THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN DE WITT COUNTY Approved: ~ -~sLO~ -rt~~ Approved: Dean of the Graduate School THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN DE WITT COUNTY THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF EDUCATION By Dorothy House Young, B.S. Austin, Texas June, 1943 Dedicated to my Mother and Father without whose encouragement and earnest wishes this thesis would never have been completed. PREFACE The purpose of this thesis is to write down the facts and information which I have collected concerning the his­tory and development of education in De Witt County. This county is rich in historioal lore; therefore I have searched through the records in the County Court House in cuero, the county seat of De Witt County; in the documents pertaining to this subject in the State Capitol at Austin and the Uni­versity of Texas library for material to be used herein; and the reports of the State and County Superintendents of Pub­lic Instruction. I have also interviewed many pioneers of De Witt County and read many old newspaper clippings. The collection, preservation, and the interpretation of this in• formation may be of help to others seeking knowledge concern­ing the growth of education in De Witt County. De Witt County lies in the southeastern part of Texas. It is bounded by Lavaca, Gonzales, Victoria, and Goliad Counties. The county was formerly part of Green DeWitt•s grant, which was received from Mexico. It has a most in­teresting history of its own. Much of the soil was satu­rated with blood during Indian and Mexican raids, and later on it was disgraced by feuds. iii Many of the old trail drivers lived in this section and the old trail to Kansas is not far away. The pioneers engaged in ranching, and to this day many of the people in the county own ranches and follow cattle-raising as a live­lihood. After the settlers made homes and began to secure a fair measure of support, their thoughts turned to the school­ing of their children. As the resources of the county de­veloped, so did the educational system. At present De Witt equals, and in some ways, surpasses other counties with the same amount of wealth. At first the educational development proceeded slowly, as most of the early settlers were of German descent and it was dif£icult for them to use the English language. The first schools were provided by each student's parents. Edu­cation was maintained by voluntary effort at first. However, the people were not easily discouraged; they had determina­tion and endurance. As time went on, conditions improved; things hoped-for were realized until today, in 1943, we have a county to be proud of, not only historically, but also educationally. I wish to mention the following people who have helped me in this research and to thank them for their kindness and forbearance and patience, for otherwise I might have become discouraged and failed. Their kindly words of encourage­ ment inspired me, and I can say that I have received real joy in writing this thesis. To Dr. Frederick Eby for his continued interest in this work and for his counsel and assistance, I am especial­ly grate:f'ul; to Dr. C.F. Arrowood for his approval of my writing on this subject and for all his encouragement; to Dr. George I. Sanchez for his care:f'ul reading; to Dr. Spencer Stoker for his kindness and inspiration; to Mrs. Belle Ell­zey of Cuero, Texas, who aided me in collecting data from the County Court House in Cuero; to County Superintendent W.F. Hancock, of Cuero, for the use of his office and records; to Mr. Emmett Gillum, of Yoakum, Texas, for translating many of the old documents written in German; to Mr. Jack Howerton, editor of the Cuero Record; to those persons who were kind enough to permit me the use of precious photographs: Miss Lulu Kleberg, of Austin, Mrs. L.G. Covey, Mrs. Bee Thomas Coleman, Miss Nell Murphree, Mrs. Tom Stell, Mr. Albert Meyer, Dr. Frederick Eby, Mr. Morris Woolsey, Miss Lulu Kleberg of Yorktown, and Mr. Paul Schmidt; to Mrs. J.W. Calhoun for the use of a scrap-book and photographs of her father, Pro­fessor D.W. Nash; to Mr. Paul Schmidt for his time and in­formation; to Mr. Leslie Lenz for his many helps and sugges­tions; to Professor Daniel Smith for his assistance; to the librarians of the various libraries in which I worked, for their patience and kindness; to all those persons permitting an interview; to my mother in whose company I made all the research trips, and to my father for his encouragement and financial aid, I wish to express appreciation. Dorothy House Young Austin, Texas June, 1943 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I. GENERAL HISTORICAL BACKGROUND • • • 1 CHAPTER II. THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF DE WITT COUNTY • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 25 CHAPTER III. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT UP TO 1866 • 95 CHAPTER IV. CONCRETE COLLEGE • • • • • • • • • • 149 CHAPTER v. THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM • • • • • • • • • 196 APPENDIX • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 239 BIBLIOGRAPHY • • • • • • • • • • • • 265 vii CHAPTER I GENER.AL HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Early Colonization in Texas. When La Salle returned from his first voyage to America, a tremor of excitement ran through all the court of Louis XIV. France felt that she could now make headway in conquering Mexico even if it were dominated by Spain. From the time La Salle established a settlement on the Lava.ca River in Texas, this country was open to all explorers who ca.red to claim parts of it. As early as 1690, the Spaniards were occupying lands in Texas. They established missions and arranged for families to live within the limits of the territory referred to as Texas. The French, also, continued their attempts to in­stitute claims, but their expeditions were soon blocked by the strong Spanish hold on Texas. Spain increased the num­ber of missions along the Rio Grande until a.t last that area, as well as the Indian territory, was well under her intluence. 1 Before any American empresario ever thought of coming to Texas, the territory was in an unsettled condition. The people of Mexico chafed under Spanish rule; and, in Texas, 1 An empresario was an agent or manager who undertook to establish a colony. 1 a great deal of trouble resulted from the adventures of 2 filibusters, who provided the subject for many stirring episodes. The expedition of Philip Nolan resulted in his death and ill-fate to his men. The gallant attempts of Lieutenant Augustus Magee to free Texas from Spanish rule, and the failure of Dr. James Long's expedition gave to the filibuster era a sharp flavor of adventure which brought more than 1200 Americans into Texas, and led to the final colonization by Anglo-Americans. Moses Austin, a native of Connecticut who was at that time a resident of Missouri, became desirous of visiting the land of which he had heard so many adventurous tales-­Texas. He came to Texas in 1820, and set about securing a tract of land for colonization. But this was not easy. The governor of the province opposed him, and his petition was thrown aside. Austin, however, was not to be discour­aged. He turned to his old acquaintance, Baron de Bastrop, and through him the signature of General Arredonde was finally secured. In 1821 Austin returned to Missouri, where he died shortly after receiving the news that he was authorized to settle three hundred families. That Stephen F. Austin entertained doubts as to the 2 A filibuster was an irregular military adventurer or a freebooter. success of his father's Texas enterprise is proved by a letter whioh Moses wrote to his son from the Colorado ar­ter he had been granted permission to settle three hundred families on a two hundred thousand acre tract on that river. The letter stated: I can now go forward with confidence, and I hope and pray that you will Discharge your Doubts as to the Enterprise.3 Upon receipt of his mother's letter informing him of his father's dying wish that Stephen should fulfill the colonization contract, young Austin departed for Natch!­toches. Upon his arrival, Stephen Austin found an escort sent by Governor Martinez to accompany him to San Antonio. The Mexican Government agreed for Stephen to carry out the contract which had been granted to his father, and he was authorized to explore the Colorado River. On July 18, 1821, he presented a memorandum of a plan for the distribution of land to the colonists, and, with slight modification, 4 Martinez approved it the following day. After his reconnaissance, Austin made a full report to Martinez, outlining the boundaries which he desired for the colony, and submitting his final plan for distributing 3 Barker: Readings in Texas History, P• 63. 4 ~., P• 65. land to the settlers. He proposed to allow a man, whether married or single, six hundred and forty acres, and in ad­dition, three hundred and twenty acres for a wife, one hun­dred and sixty for each child, and eighty for each slave. The man•s headrigh.t was reduced from nine hundred and sixty 5 to six hundred and forty acres. Meanwhile the new government in Mexico had begun t o consider a colonization policy for Texas and the Calif'or­nias. Martinez advised Austin to go t o Mexico City to have 6 his contract confirmed. Austin arrived in Me:x:ico City at the end of April, 1822 , and a year later the government approved the grant and made a contract with Aust in t o settl e the three hundred families. The Mexican Government agreed to make ee.ch family a free gift of 4,605 acres of land, and to give Austin 99,630 acres f'or his services in settling the three hundred families. Austin was the only empre sarlo who 7 was granted a contract on such terms. Green De .!!!!:E.'~ Colony in Texas. At the time that Stephen F. Austin was in Mexico Cit-y trying to carry out the plan which he and his father had formed, Green De Witt of Missouri was also in the city to obtain a grant of land. However, because Austin's case was considered special, his 5 Barker: Readings in Texas History, P• 65. 6 Ibid., P• 67. 7­~., P• 71. petition was granted in 1823, while De Witt had to wait until 1825. In 1824 De Witt wrote to Austin from San Fe­ lipe, in Texas, in regard to his mission. His message reads I beg the favor o.f you to write me and direct your letter to the care of Mr. Hickman at Monterrey where I shall wait the arrival. Please inform me the shape in which my papers are forwarded and to what Department; also your passport and anything else more that you can consistent.ly do to insure a per­mission of the settlement petitioned for which I wish to locate somewhere in this provinITe.8 Later, from Saltillo, after De Witt's arrival in March, 1825, Baron de Bastrop wrote to Austin telling him that De 9 Witt was there wishing to talk business. Bastrop said that he had reoeived De Witt's papers and that he seemed like a capable man. The following year, on the fifteenth day of April, De Witt's petition for a colony was granted by the goTernment of Coahuila on the following terms: 1. Under penalty of losing all rights guaranteed him by the colonization law, the empresario nn1st agree t o bring into this territory within six years of the date of this grant, four hundred Catholic famllies whose moral character nrust be proved by certificate s from the authorities of the localities from whence they came. 2. When one hundred of these families shou l d have arrived, the empresa.rio nru.st notify the government, in order that a commissioner might be appointed to put the colonists in possession of their lands. 3. In the location of colonists, al l possessions he ld under legal title by persons al ready in the 8 Austin Papers, P• 987. 9 Bastrop was a Prussian by birth, and the first land co:rmnissioner in Austin's colony. country must be respected. 4. All official correspondence must be carried on in Spanish and the empresario must establish schools giving instruction in that language. 5. The empresario must organize the national mili­tia of which he should be the commanding officer un­til f'urther notice. 6. The empresario must promote the building of churches in the new towns, supply ornaments and sacred vessels, and apply in due time for a priest.10 The following extract is from a decree of instructions issued in 1825, (the date of De Witt's grant), for the guidance of the government land commissioner, who took charge of the distribution of land. This decree specifi­ cally states that one block in every new town should be set aside for a school. The Spanish transcript reads thus: 12. Senalado el sitio destinado ~ la problaci6n cuidara/ a que las primeras lineas corran de sur a/ norte y en Orienta aponiente: depignar~ Un quadro de 120 varas p.r lado con exclusi6n de las calles que se de­nominara Plaza Mayor 6 Plaza de la Constituci6n, y tste serrf el punos c~ntrico de donde deberan partir las ,. / / calles y sobre estas la formacion de quadrales o man­ 'n.J zanas arregladas al modo que se acompan~. 13. La manzana que resulte al oriente consista a la plaza mayor se desinara para templo, casa cural, y otros edificios para la iglesia, y la que da al occidente para casas consistiriales. En otro lugar acomodado senalara otra manzana p~ plaza de mercado; otra para carcel y casa de correccion; tora p~ escuela y otros edificios de in­ , I I struccion publica; otra a extramuros para cemeterio. Translation 12. When the site for the town has been designated he shall take care that the first lines run north to south and east to west; he shall describe a square 10 ­ "Green De Witt's Colony", Ethel Zivley Rather, Southwest Historical Quarterly, Vol. VIII, pp. 95-192. 120 varas,(one vara is about 32 i.nches), on each side not including the streets, and this shall be named Mai.n Plaza or Constjtutlonal Plaza. and this shall be the central point froiTIW'Fiich the streets shall originate, upon which the squares or blocks shall be formed, arranged in the manner desi.gnated. 13. The bl ock formed on the east slde facing the main plaza shall be set a.side for a church, a parish house, and other buildings of the Church, and the one on the west side shall be for government buiJ.dlngs. At some other convenient place he shall designate an­other block for market place; another for a jail and correctional house; another for a school and other buildings of public insr.riction; and another extra­murally for a cemetery. · In May of the same year, Baron de Bastrop, who once befriended his father, wrote to Stephen F. Au stin, telling him that De Witt had. contracted with the government for 12 the introduction of four hundred families. Immediately at'ter obtaining his contract, De Witt set about to establish his colony. Byrd Lockhart, an early settler in De Witx's colony who surveyed the grant in 1829, desaribes it as consisting of a league of land situated on the southwest side of the Guadalupe River, a little below the La Bahia Road. Because Indians at this time overran the country, and settlements of white people were few and far between, and because De Witt felt the need to be with his family in 11 This reference is from the Saltillo Archives, Vol. XVI, 1825, P• 219. (MamJ.script photoatat. 12 Austin Papers, P• 1037. 13 Missouri, he appointed ,Tames Kerr to te.ke eharge of s e­l ecting the site for a colony and of surveying the lands. Kerr was authorized by the governor of the state to lay out and name the i'Uture capital. He arrived at the pres­ent site of Gonzales in 1825. ':!:'here he and a handful of settlers--among whom was Deaf Smith--laid out and named the town called Gonzales in honor of the first governor 14 of Coahuila and Texas. The settlers built rude cabins, and lived quietly until, in 1826, Kerr's house was attacked by Indians during his absence on a surveying trip. The colonists retreated to a settlement on the Colorado, and for a time Gonzales was abandoned. When De Witt returned from Missouri in 1826, nothing remained of the colony at Gonzales. Beca:use of lts con­venience for transporting immigrants who came by water, De Witt considered the Lavaca RiVBr a suitable place for a settlement. After he had established this colony, he turned evBrything over to Kerr, because he wished to t~av­el in the United States to encourage i mmigration to Texas. Kerr made the first crop ever to be raised in that part of the countr-y, and sent into Louisiana for milch cows, 13 See Appendix A for lnformation on Kerr. 14 Baker: Scrapbook, P• 291. as well as peach scion and seeds, which were planted that 15 same year. Growth of De Witt•~ Colony. That this new colony was to have a bright future, for a time at least, wa.s ev­idenced by the number of families who arrived desiring possession of land. Austin wrote to Saucedo as follows: More than fifty families have arrived and are in order to get possession of their lands and there are agents now waiting to choose lands for two hun­dred families that are planning to immigrate to this colony. They wish to be certain before leav­ing the place where they now live in compliance with the law of colonization and with the office recommending James Kerr for the emvloyment of land-surveyor of De Witt•s colony.-6 Austin stated also that instructions concerning land pay­ment should be sent to the new colony as soon as possible. In 1824 Martin De Leon, a ranch man from Tamaulipas, viewed the grassy lands of South Texas and desired to settle there. In April, 1824, he petitioned the Provin­cial Delegation of San Fernando de Bexar for permission to establish himself and forty one families at a point on the lower Guadalupe River. 'Ihis was before the passage of the National Colonization Law, so the Provincial Delegation of San Fernando de Bexar granted De Leon his petition. By 15 Baker; Scrapbook, p. 291. 16 Austin Papers, p. 1325, (Translation.) October, twelve of the forty one families had estab1JshAd themselves wlth De Leon. Shortly afterward he was joined by sixteen Anglo-American families. When De Witt appeared on the scene, he was surprised to find that his grant of l and included De Leon's settle­ment. Since De Leon had failed to notify the government of hls location, the Legislature of Coahuila and Texas had made the contract with De Witt without knowing that De Leon's colony would be included in the territo1•y. De Leon was conscious that his Mexican citizenship would e;ive him an advantage over De Witt; and, on his part, De Witt realized that a clause in his contract stated that he must respect all possessions of settlers who were occupying lands under legal title within the llrnits of hls bounda­ 17 ries. Irmnediately De Witt ma.de contact with the Governor of Coahuila and Texas, giving a full explanation of the circumstances, and assuring him of his willingness to agree to any settlement the government proposed. He urged, however, that "a fixed and permanent solution that will guarantee the generH1 we l.fare and the 1nt:!mat e and fraternal union of e.11 the natural and adoptive sons of' 17 Barker: Readings in Texas Historx, pp. 94-97 . 18 19 such fer-tile soil." Kerr wrote to Austin in 1826 that De Leon W&.8 considered an empresario over an undefined dis­t:rict for forty families and wished the boundaries between De Witt and De Leon to be agreed upon by themselves. De Leon was to be permitted to go up and down the Guadalupe for his land, while De Witt was to locate his settlers on the Lavaca; but De Witt would not agree to this without the consent of De Leon. Kerr stated that De Witt would have to appeal to the Governor to obtain his rights. This De Witt did, but unfortunately, in October of 1825, the Governor decided in favor of De Leon. Soon after this dispute De Witt, knowingly or un­knowingly, exceeded his limits to a degree that neces­sitated a reproach from Saucedo. In a letter to Austin dated September 21, 1826, Saucedo said: I am convinced of the utilit y and advantages t hat should be forthcoming from the se ttlement that Green De Witt is forming on the arroyo de la Baca to re­ceive the families of the colonists o.f his under­taking (settlement }. However, some difficulties arise since it is situated inside the ten l eagues exempted by law, and since there is no government­maint ained post on the arroyo de la Baca; al so, there is lacking the presence of the first enter­prises (empresarios) to del iberate over the limits of their respective settlements. Considering t hese 18 Saltillo ArQhives, Vol. XIX, P• 35. 19 Austin Papers, Vol. II, part II, P• 1435. points, I beg you please give the necessary notice to senores Car and De Witt, so that they will moderate their work at the said settlement, which should serve only temporarily to receive the fam­ilies filjd paraphernalia needed f'or their enter­prise. O Then, in 1827, true to the form of luck that Kerr and De Witt seemed destined to have, an order came from the 21 political chief to the effect that within one month all De Witt's colonists nrust remove to Gonzales. Even so, the little colony was under a strong impetus .for reeste.b­lishment on the Guadalupe, for, back in 1826, when De Witt was traveling between Texas and Missouri lookine; for colon­ 22 ists, he wrote to Austin int:uoducing Colonel Elijah Stapp and Mr. William Duncan. These men came to Texas to select lands along the Guadalupe for· a number of prospective im­migrant families from Missouri. Conditions nrust have been satisfactory for a rapid recovery and growth, as Mrs. Hatcher wrote that in the colony established by De Witt, two hundred leagues of land were granted to American emi­23 grants, and about an equal number' to native Mexjcans. 20 Austin Pap~, p. 1460, (translation.) 21 Rather: "Green De Witt's Colony", Southwest Histor­ical Quarterly, Vol. VIII, pp. 95-192. 22 Austin Papers, p. 1271. 23 Hatcher: Letters from~ Early American Traveler, p.172 . Under De Witt's leadership the colony continued to grow for a time. In 1829 Mr. Lockhart arrived in Aransas Bay with fifty five men, women, and children bound for the settlement. He had provided wagons, carts, and horses for 24 their transportation to the colony. Misfortune, however, again overtook De Witt when his contract expired in 1831. Ramon Musquiz wrote to the 25 alaalde at San Felipe in May, 1831, stating that on the fifteenth of April De Witt's six years' time limit for colonizing his land had ended. Furthermore, De Witt had failed to bring in the number of families specified by the Law of April 6, 1830. However, De Witt was able to renew his contract; and that he persisted in exhaustive measures for improving the colony is evident by a record of the A'yuntamiento of Austin, for January, 1835, which follows: This a;,iuntamiento havine; received satisfact ory in­formation that a number of families entered the country after the passage of t he law of the sixth of April, 1830, with a view of settl ing under the con­tract of the empresario, Gr een De Witt, with whom they had provisionally contracted to settle in said colony and having been fully satisfied that said families entered the country in good faith with a view of establishing t hemselves under t he coloniza­tion laws of this state, respectfully sol icit the 24 Austin Papers, De Witt to Austin, Vol. II, P• 177. 25 Ibid., Vol. II, P• 662. attention of the government to the situation of said inhabitants and ask that their claims r eceive that immediate dispatch which they justly merit. This ayuntamiento furt her solicits that cit:l.zen Don Talbot Chambers, commissioner for the colony of B.R.Milam be ordered t o nut said families in nro­portion of their corresp;nding rights.26 ~ In April De Witt went down to Monclova, Mexico, and wrote back to the people of Gonzales an interesting ac­ count of the installation of Viesca as Constitutional Governor of the state. In the same letter he mentioned the extent of his own activities as follows: I am now occupied and have been ever since my ar­rival, with the Congress in endeavoring to secure for the people of Texas and more particularly for those of my own colony legal rights for their lands which I have every reason to think will now be accom­plished by the assistance of ~fames Grant the Deputy of the Department of Panras and other members of Congress and my Brazos friends who have taken nm.ch interest on this point. I have obtained for my­self only five lea@ies of land in any vacant part of the state. You may rest assured that nothing on my part shall be wanting while I am to recommend the interest of my colonists to the consideration of Congress. Dr. Grant will in all likelihood visit our colony in the fall of the year and wil l be able to give you satisfactory information on all points in which you and myself are equally interested.27 It is a known fact that De Witt died in Monclova in the year 1835. From what I have been able to find out, it is probable that De Witt never returned from this journey to Monclova. He wrote to his sons and families later in 26 AlUllta.miento of Austin, January 1835. 27 See Appendix B, State Library Archives. April, 1835, giving Mr. Davis instructions about the lands 28 De Witt had procured ror his children. De Witt's Character. Of the life of Green De Witt, little is known; only through the nondescript opinions of his associates is one able to get a glimpse of him in the role of pioneer. From available in.formation, one sees the sturdy empresario commanding the respect of his fellows with apparently little effort, and at the same time, re­ specting the interests and wishes of his superiors. Kerr said of him: De Witt often told them [the people] they must not oppose the government and that all orders coming from the government must and should be obeyed.29 Even in Clopper's rather defamatory portrayal of him, De Witt's goodness and capabilities are manifest. Clopper wrote as follows: This colony contains but few settlers nor can it be expected to flourish under its present Empresario-­Colonel De Witt. This man had been raised among the pioneers of the western states--is well acquainted with Indian manners, customs, and modes of warfare-­his has been an unrestrained life with regard to morals and religion, his situations have necessar­ily exposed and as it were compelled to class and associate with those bold, independent and but too loose and dissipated though brave and dauntless Sons of Liberty--introductors of civilization. 28 See Appendix c, State Library Archives. 29 Austin Papers, Kerr to Austin, Nov. 1826, Vol. Il, part II, P• l502. Yet has the colonel been nru.ch in refined society-­his education is considerable and his natural powers of intellect strong and vigorous--sufficiently so to render him well qualified for his station--but alas--dissipation and neglectful indolence have de­stroyed his energies and are rendering in a great measure aborti"e the efforts of his colonizing as­sistants--he is thought much of a gentleman and like his most excellent Lady is very kind and hospitable to strangers.30 Others of De Witt's good qualities were mentioned by William Trimble. He wrote: I have formed a few days acquaintance with Green De Witt beside the recommendation of those of my neighbors who have been long acquainted with him and I am induced as a f~iend to his character to say that he is a gentleman in whom every confidence can be placed.31 Bastrop, too, spoke of De Witt in favorable words. He wrote that he knew De Witt managed his affai~s with great honesty and integrity. It appears that De Witt was well qualified to lead a group of people and set the example of living through a period of hardship, worry, and discomfo~t. Life in the Colony. The conditions under which these men and women existed were uncultured and, more or less, in a natural state. The settlers lived huddled together in rude log cabins without windows or floors; they had no 30 "J.C.Clopper' s Journal and Book of Memoranda for 1828," Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, Vol. XIII, PP• 44-80. 31 Austin Papers, Trimble to Austin, Vol. I, part I, P• 842. comforts and only rude protection from the elements. They made no pretense of improving the station or planting corn because the Indians were always near to scorn their efforts to till the soil. Noah Smithwick, an early Texan, visited De Witt's colony, and gave the following description of conditions: When the colonists used up their breadstuff they brought with them, they had to do without until they raised it. The soil was rich and loose from the suc­cessive crops of cane that had decayed upon it. In the fall when the cane died down, it was clean. The ground was then ready for planting which was done in a very primitive manner, a stick sharpened being all the implement necessary. With this they made holes in the moist loam and dropped in grains of corn. When the young cane began to grow they went over it with a stick simply lrn.ocking it down; the crop was then laid by. Game was plenti.f'ul the year round, so there was no need of starving. Men talked hopefully of the .f'uture; children reveled in the novelty of the present; but the women--ah, that is where the situation bore heaviest, as an old lady once remarked--Texas was a Heav­en for men and dogs, but a hell for women. They--the women--talked sadly of the old homes and friends left behind, of the hardships and bitter privations they were undergoing and the dangers that surrounded them. They had not even the solace of constant employment. The spinning wheel and loom had been left behind. There was, as yet, no use for them--there was nothing to spin. There was no house to keep in order; the meagre fare was so simple as to require little time for its prepar­ation. There was no poultry, no dairy, no books or papers, and if there had been, many of them could not read--no schools, no churches--nothing to break the dull monotony of their lives, save an occasional wrangle among the children or dogs. The men at least had the excitement of killing game and cutting bee trees. It was July and the heat was intense. The only water obtainable was that of the sluggish river that crept along between low banks, thickly set with tall trees from the branches of which depended long streamers of Spanish moss swarming with mosquitoes and pregnant with malaria. Alligators gaunt and grim certainly the most hideous creatures God ever made--lay in waiting among the moss and drift for any unwary creature that might come down to drink, Dogs, of which every well regulated family had several, were their special weakness, and many a thirsty canine drank and never thirsted more. This was not perhaps from any partiality for dog meat; on the con­trary, when the alligator went foraging under cover of night, he evinced a decided preference for human flesh, particularly negroes, and many blood-curdling stories were told of alligators stealing into sleep­ing camps and seizing an inmate. Newcomers were warmly welcomed and entertained with all the hospitality at the command of the colonists. Sleeping accommodations were limited to mosquito bars, a provision not to be despised, since they were absolutely indispensible to sleep. The bill of fare, though far from epicurean, was an improvement on dried venison and honey in that the venison was fresh and cooked. Flour was $10 a barrel. Trading vessels came in sometimes but few people had money enough to buy anything more than coffee and tobacco, which were considered absolutely indispensable. Money was as scarce as bread. There was no controversy about sound money then. Pelts of any kind passed as currency and constituted the principle medium of exchange.32 Any narration in regard to the early settlement and growth of De Witt's colony would be incomplete without some mention of the bravery and integrity of the pioneer women. With the Indians on one side and the uninhabited wilder­ ness on the other, the woman of those days spent much of her time in preparation and worry about safety. Living in constant dread of the Indians, sometimes she even slept in a dark colored gown, ready to crawl under the loose boards in the floor. In addition to her household chores and her gardening activities, she had to nurse her loved 32 Smithwick, Noah; Evolution of a State, pp. 14-18. ones during time of illness as there were no doctors with­in calling distance. She witnessed numerous hair-raising 33 sights and viewed many riding parties armed to the gill. Yet the pioneer woman lived through these agitations to propogate a generation born out of heroism and hazard. (See note.) A serious and thorough attempt was made to institut:e a mode of living which would pave the way for future gen­erations. Those people who struggled through hardship in those days left a heritage of courage, valor, and prowess. The lack of comfort, food, and luxury, and the necessity to bear adversity and suffering made it impossible for the colonists to enjoy life, so to speak; but the pioneering spirit and the desire that their children should be cultured were among the reasons that the colonists endured such mis­ 34 fortunes in a new land. Indian Depredations and Mexican Trouble. In addition to the privations in daily living, the early colonists were forced to endure atrocities committed by the Indians. The interference from the Indians had a great deal to do with the colony's struggle for existence. Perhaps some of the 33 Note: Appendices D. and E. give life sketches of two heroic pioneer women? Mrs. Sarah Seely De Witt and Mrs. Sarah Ann Braches. Appendix F. gives some facts in regard to M.s. Bennett who was a member of De Witt's colony. 34Eby: The Development of Education ~ Texas, p. 75. hostility lay in the fact that the Cherokee Indians had not been given the grant which they sought from Mexico. This request had been made while De Witt, Austin, and Hayden Edwards were in Mexico seeking colonial privileges in Texas. Three Cherokee chiefs asked for "some sort of concession to the district in which they were locating, not a contract for colonization, but a specific grant to their 35 people in tribal capacit-y." It has been intimated by some historians that the Indians were not really barbarous, but Brown's account of the attack on Gonzales paints a fiendish picture--one into which is breathed the very des­36 olation and despair of the little group of colonists. This attack occurred in 1822 and was, perhaps, the blood­iest encounter with the Indians. Most of the residents had gone to the Fourth of July barbecue at Beson•s, seventy miles away. Kerr and Deaf Smith were out buffalo hunting; Mu.sick, Strickland, and a colored boy were at Berry's, and John Wightman was left alone. When the others returned, they found Wightman dead and mutilated, and Kerr's house robbed of his papers and three surveying compasses. Austin related to Saucedo, the political chief, the 35 Brown: Indian~ and Pioneers of Texas,p.11. 36 ~., P• 15. tragic story in a letter, which follows: I conceive it to be my duty to inform your Lordship, that, a few days since, a pe.rty of about sixty Comanche and Tahuacano Indiana visited the settlement of the Empresario, Green De Witt. In the town of Gonzales in the Guadalupe, they killed one man and wounded another; they destroyed all the .furniture of Mr Kerr's house, and stole all the horses they could find. The settlers retreated to this Colony, not knowing what to do; they had a certain quantity of corn sowed, and, but for this unfortunate occurrenQe, their Colony would be in a very thriving condition.3'7 In 1827 De Witt wrote to Austin describing the follow­ ing situations We have lately had 2 visits to our station of the Cor­onkawaaes; the first part had six and the (second) twelve in number, they professed great friendship to us and actually had it in their power to have killed several of our people, as they came up to the station; for they found one man and 2 boys 10 miles below here at work, and actually were in their camp in a manner--before they were discovered; a few miles above that they came to an­other labor in like manner where there were a man and a woman; and hurt no one but I am of the opinion that they are only waiting a good opportunity to make a break on our settlement, therefore we are constantly upon our Guard; and so soon as we get our corn planted we will try to be ready for them, and are determined that they must not come amongst us--for since we have heard of the late murders in your colony it is more than Americans can bear to suffer them to come under the coulor of friendship when their hands are yet reeking with the blood of Inosent [sic) women and children; and as we ex­pect a campaign against them from your quarter, I have thought it most advisable to keep peace with them if possible untill that time; and being advised of the time we can have it in our power to know where they are and can give you 15 or 20 good brave men to assist in cuting them entirely off.38 The raids continued for several years, evidently, for two years later, in 1829, De Witt again wrote to Austin 37 Austin Papers, Vol. II, part II, p. 1374. 38 Ibid., P• 1624. 22 on the same subject; this letter said: The indians have been commiting some outrages on the people of this. colony, by killing a few hogs and steal­ing one horse; and robed the camp of some men who were sawing some plank 3 miles above this place on the Guada­lupe River--the hogs were stolen below--on the River,by the Tankawas--, horse was stolen by the cados and taken from them again on the waters of the St Marcus by a party of 19 men which I sent after them. the Camp above mentioned was robed by the Tawaccanies--of about $100 worth of Tools-­I sent a party of men out to find their course--after a march of 4 days on foot--they returned and reported that there were four in number--when they commited the theft,but were joined by about 25 more at the Cappoto--and bent their course for LaBahia, and crossed the San Antonio road 24 miles west of this place--I raised a party of 17 men besides myself and followed them within about 15 miles of LaBahia finding on their trail parts of saws which they had broken which convinced us they were the same indians there they had fallen in with a bout 40 more who had been encamped there during the last Storm, on that evening we struck their trail on their way from LaBahia with a Caviard of a bout 50 horses.--! put three spies ahead with orders to report should they see any Indians in a bout one hour, one of the spies discovered an Indian--riding down from a prairie hill; when he broke in to full speed without reporting what he had seen--he was too far ahead to hear me when I ordered him to keep order--consequently he went on and those who had good horses went on--others whose horses were tired were a mile behind--when I arrived there were five men on the ground-­and them scatered for the distance of two hundred yards--I ordered them to form in a small bunch of muskeet (sic) trees in about 100 yards of the Indian horses--4 men besides my­self formed there--when Capt McCoy who was in the rear of me order a retreat to better ground, and reported that the Indians were a bout to cut off our men who were on tired horses and intirely behind us--this put the men in confusion, and the indians having made a bold charge upon us with a hot fire--in order to cover their own men who were then se­curing their horses--John and Andrew Tumlinson who had tied their horses in the edge of the same thicket where the Indians were, got a1most surrounded one of their horses being slightly hit by a ball, broke a way and joined our horses the other horse being tied with two hard knots, was siezed by an Indian in a few Steps of John T, whose gun would not fire--the Indian untied the hotrJse which got frighuened at him; broke loose and Joined our company 23 the Indians followed those men a few yards and stopt, two of whom were shot down by our men They then retreated in to their thicket, carrying off their dead--we were not able to charge in to their hold without great loss, as they were too superior in number--therefore we took our stand in the fork of a small creek in their view in or­der to draw them out--where we could be Sheltered by a few mu.skeet trees; where we remained for some time, but without any attack--we then with drew Slowly for a few hundred yards when we discovered them in full chase on horse back--we then took our stand and drove them with the loss of two more of their number; it then being af­ter dark we Struck our course for home; as I did not wish to hazard the lives of any the Citizen on such un­equal grounds; for we were compelled to fight them at a place of [their) own selection; and which was almost im­penetrable. I have given you this detail of the affair precisely as it was tra(n}sacted, in order to show you we were not the agressers, but were persuing our property and were fired upon first by themselves. Your Old friend Don G. Flores was robed of his horses between this and San Antonio and went home on foot as I am informed--.! have received in­formation from Bexar--that the Indians have stolen a great many horses from that place and that there are 200 Soldiers now in persuit (sic) of them. The fact is I be­lieve the Caddos Wacos Comanches and Tawaccanies are all concerned in the affair; and unless there is some pre­caution taken they will harrass the people of the frontiers of both of these Colonies; and the only means will be to keep troops of some discription on the alert from the Col­orado to the Guadalupe, and thence to San Antonia which would be the means of giving information of their approach and put people on their guard so that they could protect them selves and property. I would wish you to take these things in to consideration; and should you approve of the measure--use your influence to affect it, either by a Company of Rangers, or the public troops which would be a great securit7 to the people of San Antonia and LaBahia as well as to American Settlements.39 As late as 1837 there were depredations by the Indians Austin Papers, Vol. II, pp.1?5,1?6. 40 as Dewees recounted in his letters. This happened even after the treaty with the Karankawas had been signed. Nor were the Indians alone in committing the outrages endured by the settlers. Great distress was also precipitated by the Mexican battles. The town of Gonzales had more than its share of such disturbances. In 1835, when the Gonzales settlers refUsed to relinquish the cannon which had been given them by the authorities of a constitutional government for self-defense, and defied Colonel Ugartechea, Stephen F. Austin sent out a call for volunteers to assist them. An 41 account of the ensuing battle may be obtained from Dewees. Through history it has been called the Battle of Gonzales, a battle which historians delight in relating because of its favorable resulta for the Texans. Sooner or later the people in De Witt's colony were to settle themselves into their own way of life and turn their thoughts toward ideals which they could cherish: mental development, and cultural improvements. The following chap­ters deal with the inception and growth of these ideals in De Witt County. 40 Dewees: Letters from Texas, pp.154-157. 41 Ibid. CHAPTER II THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF DE WITT COUNTY De Witt County Established. Directly after Texas became a state, a bill was introduced into the legislature creating forty new counties, and De Witt County was among 1 the number. This law stated: That all portions of the counties of Gonzales, Vic­toria, and Goliad comprised within the following limits, to-wit: Beginning at the corner of a quarter of a league of land granted to Jesse McCoy, on the nor northeast of the Guadalupe river; then in a direction on N 75 E. to Lavaca County line; thence with said line of Lavaca County, down, continuing the same direction until a line, running S. 75 West will cross Guadalupe River at the lower corner of a league of land, deeded to Lucian Navarra near Prices Creek; then continuing the same course to Oolite Creek; then up said creek to the fork of the main branch; thence N. 75 E will intersect the Guadalupe River opposite beginning corner here and the same is hereby constituted a separate district for judicial purposes with the like privileges enjoyed by inhabitants of the several counties of this republic, except that of separate representation in Congress which shall be regulated as heretofore; Section 2. Be it further enacted that the above de­scribed district or territory shall be known by the name of the county of De Witt and Daniel E. Friar, Ralph Campbell, Joseph Lawrence, James Wood, Ben Craig, James Smith, or a majority of them are hereby appointed commissioners to select a site for the seat of justice in said county and shall be authorized to receive by donation or purchase not exceeding 640 acres of land, 1 Law of March, 1846. 25 to be laid out in lots and sold in such a manner as may be most beneficial to the count¥, the proceeds of which shall be applled to the erection of public buildings. Section 4. That the seat of justice to be chosen shall be known and styled as the town of Cuero, and that the county courts shall be held therein for said county on the second Monday in January, April, July, and October, and said county shall constitute a part of the fourth judicial districto2 Plate 1. First Court House at Cameron, Texas The first County Seat, Cameron, is said to have been on what is now the Buchel farm near Cuero. There probably was never much there; some say that all of the official records were kept at one house. A rude post oak structure 2 Early~ ot Texas, 1731-1876, Art. 97. 2'1 was used for the Court House. (See Plate 1.) The Courts met regularly there until July, 1850, which was probably the last time the County Commissioners me t at that place, for the next mee ting that is known was in the town of Cl inton, in August of the same year. Court was held there for several years; and then a. frame building containing offices for the various officials of the coun­ty was erected. A description of tbe Court House may be found in the Diarx of J~~ Norma.~ Smith, who was commonl y known as Uncle Jimmy Smith. He was the first Count y Clerk of De Witt County. The following excerpt is from his memoirs: Clinton Began to Improve some--the County sold off her Lots (at least many of them) And we had a nice Large Framed Court House Buil t altogether with Pine Lumber--The Court-Room was up Stairs--This was the whole Length and Breadth of the House--Except the Lawyers and Judges Seat and Juries boxes were En­closed to themselves--with a Door on Each Side of the House to Enter Into the Lawyers and Clerks--The Bal­ance of the upper Story was Large and Spacious for citizens to attend and hear the Trial Cases & what served us For Preaching on Sabbath days and Nights which was a Great convience (sic) to us.3 The clerk's office was furnished with hide-bottomed chalrs; and a strong, rude, old-fashioned desk was pre­ slded over by James N. Smith. He held the office of cl erk without opposition from 1846 to 1865, when he was rorced 3 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. IV, P• 85. to ~esign on account of feeble health. His son, Tom, who was appointed to finish the unexpired term, was later e­ lected for another term. The second building that was put up for a Court House in Clinton was moved to Cuero in about 1877. This new structure was destroyed by fire and for two years Court was held in the old Na.sh School House. About 1895 the present Court House was constructed at a cost of $107,000. Miss Nell Murphree of Thomaston, Texas, a great grand­ daughter of James N. Smith, has prepared the following facts concerning County Seats and Court Houses in De Witt Count-y: The Texas Legislature created De Witt County and appointed commissioners Frair, Troy, Blair, and Baker to select a county seat site not over five miles from the county's center. Where the Victoria-Gonzales road crossed the road to La Grange, Com.missioner Friar had a combination store, home, and post office. He wanted the county seat located there, but a survey showed that it was seven miles from the county's center. West of' the river Captain Chisholm had deeded 640 acres of land to Patterson, Stapp, Donalds, and Miller with the undePstanding that they would try to get the count,y seat located on it. But they re.fused to give any land to the county. Joseph TUmlinson donated 100 acres east of the river. June 23, 1846, T,he commissioners reported this gift to the court which instructed James Smith to lay it off in blocks and lots. So November 10, 1846, Cameron, named for the Ewing Cam­eron, became De Witt County's .f1rst county seat. August 12, 1846 the court decided to us.e the Priar store as a meeting place until a court house was built. 'I'he county court met there each month; but when the district judge came to hold his court, he refused to hold it outside the county seat and gave orders for the district suits to be re-issued for trial at the next session of his court to be held in Cam­eron. The court's next meeting in January, 1847,was the last one at Friar's store. Quite heated arguments came up over holding court there. Finally, Judge Troy said, "Adjourn court to meet in hell, for I'll send Sheriff Patterson there by morning." Clerl~ Smith replied, "Appoint another clerk, for I can't meet at the designated place." Then .Judge adjourned court to meet in Cameron at the County clerk's of­fice, a house built of pecan clapboards. At the February meeting the court appointed William Blair to have built a log house sixteen feet wide by eighteen feet long. April 12, 1847, court met in the Cameron court house and Blair was told to have benches and a table made. At the July session he was instruc­ted to have the cracks in the court house lined with boards. November 12, 1848, by a majority of four votes Clin­ton was voted the county seat. Because some votes were not numbered the election was contested. Final­ly May, 1849, the Supreme Court decided against Clinton, so the county seat was moved back to Camer­on. In 1850 the people again voted Clinton the county seat. The county was given a public square and thirty nine other lots. For several years a log court house was used. Then a two-story, frame, glass­windowed building served as a court house, church, and entertainment hall until the county seat was changed to Cuero. In 1876 the people's vote made Cuero the county seat. Clinton's court house lumber was used in building Guero 1 s larger court house. This burned in 1893. Court was held in the Nash school house until 1895. Then the county began using 1ts ~('107, 000 granite court house. This court house is still in use and while an imposing structure from the exterior, it has had very little improvement on the interior and is in a very bad state of use, needing a complete renovation with other sanitary and needed conveniences, as any building would that is over forty years old and in constant use by the general public. The first officers of the county court were as follows: John Troy Chief Justice Joseph Baker District Clerk James N. Smith County Clerk James M. Baker Probate Judge v.v. Poinsett K.W. Barton County Connnissioners Crockett Ca.rd.well v.w. Poinsett Magistrates for R.H. Chisholm District #1 William Patterson Sheriff and Collector John Tomlinson County Treasurer The earliest available minutes of the Commissioners' Court give .further proof that these proceedings took place as follows: August 12, 1846 The Court took into consideration the fixing a temporary seat of Justice for ho.lding the District and County and Probate Courts until proper buildings can be fUrnished at the County Seat and they ap­pointed all courts to be held at the House of D.B. Frair Esq. until such buildings could be procured. The Court after due deliberation believing it to be their duty to give a name to the County Seat and after reflecting up on the great services rendered to this State while it existed as "The Republic of Texas" by the :much beloved and lamented Ewing Cameron, who was basely and inhumanely :murdered, by the barbarous and treacherous Mexicans and the Court believing that a more noble and patriotic and brave spirit never com­manded a band of soldiers. They therefore wishing to perpetuate his memory to future ages, do hereby agree to call the county seat of DeWitt County by the name o'f: "Cameron." January 1847 The Court discussed the legality of holding court at this place and a majority of the Court protested the holding the Court at any other place until a Court House can be built. April 13, 1847 The account of K.W. Barton against the County of De Witt for advertising the name of Cameron and place of holding Court for the sum of five dollars was presented and allowed at the meeting of the Court and ordered to be paid by the county treasurer. The Commissioners reported to the Court a petition for the location of the county seat of De Witt County as follows: "Be it remembered that on this 23rd of June, A.D. 1846, we the undersigned Commissioners ap­ pointed by an act of the Legislature of the State of Texas to locate the county seat of De Witt County, preceeded to discharge the duties imposed on us in the following manner: After surveying and examining the situations near the center of the County and taking into consideration the advantages resulting to the whole county we have come to the conclusj_on that tbe situation on the East bank of the Guadalupe River, nearly opposite the Sandles, and between the resi­ dences of Mrs. Wm. Poinsett and Bresitt and James Blair is the most eligible we have this day selected the said point for a location for said County Seat in obedience to said Act of the Legislature. Dan B. Friar Jn. Troy James Blair J.M.Baker On the 21st da'Y of August, 1848 the County Court of said County met at the Court House in the town of Cam­eron and the case of the contested election regarding the location of the County Seat of De Witt County was taken up, wherein it was discovered that the tickets at that election were not numbered when they were polled, therefore the Court decided that all the returns of said election at the different precincts be counted and after the counting it was found that the town of Clinton had received a majority of four legal votes, and so the town of Clinton was declared the County Seat of De Witt County.4 November 20, 1848, seems to be the date the last Court was held at Cameron, for a report of the Commissioners of the Legislature of the State of ·rexas to act as Commis­ 4 Minutes of Commissioners' Court, De Witt County, August, 1846 toMarch 1847. sioners for the County Seat of De Witt County was presented to the Court and received by them and ordered on file. The Court then ordered that they adjourn to meet in the town of Clinton on the morning of November 21, 1848, at the legal County Seat of De Witt County and that all courts hereafter be held at Clinton by order of the Court. Plate 2 Monument to Captain Ewen Cameron at the State Park near La Grange, Texas. The Instription reads: Capt. Ewen Cameron. Executed by order of Santa Anna, April 25, 1843. Cowards die many times before their deaths. The valiant never taste of death but once. In March, 1847, the De Witt County Commissioners' Court arranged for the construction of a Court House, as follows: March 1847 The Court appointed William A. Blair an agent to re­ceive proposals for the building of a court house at the town of Cameron and to make a contract with the lowest competent bidder to build the same of the follow­ing size: a log house sixteen feet by eighteen feet, the logs to be hewed down after the house is raised-­to be eight feet high in the body, to be covered with three feet of clapboards, cabin fashion with one door and shutter--to be done in a good substantial manner-­the House to be raised on block one foot high; and ordergd that the Clerk furnish him a copy of the same. Du.ring the occupation period of settlement, this sec­ tion of the country was called the CUero Settlement by the pioneers. The town of Cuero, however, was not founded until 1873, one hundred and twenty years after the time the name first appeared on the map of Texas, and fifty years after the date of De Witt's grant. It is now over ninety years since the name first appeared in the annals of Texas, which, as some claim, places it fourth in line with San Antonio, Goliad, and Nacogdoches preceding it. The Spanish, in making a map of Texas in 1745, found a small group of Indians on a creek which the tribe was calling Skin Creek. The Spaniards designated the river Guadalupe, but left all its tributaries unnamed, with the single excep­ tion of one small stream only twelve or fifteen miles long, which they marked "Cuero." Because the other tributaries were unnamed on the map, the colonists gave them Anglo­6 Saxon names. 5 Minutes 2f ~~County Commissioners' Court, March 1847. 6 Mr. Tom Stell, (Plate 3), native of Cuero who died a few years ago, was an authority on De Witt County History. The foregoing facts are from various articles in the Cuero Record written by Mr. Stell. Plate 3 Mr. Tom Stell Prior to the year 1846, there were no towns in what is now De Witt County. Settlers in this section were compelled to go to Victoria or Gonzales to market their produce, pur­chase supplies, and post letters. This situation existed for six or seven years. Then, in 1838, Daniel B. Friar ereoted a store aoout .four miles north of Cuero, where the road from La Grange to Goliad was f'irst known--be.fore De Witt's colony came--as the road from Burnham's store (La Grange) to La Bahia (Goliad). The road was crossed by an­other leading from Gonzales to Victoria later, and at the crossing Friar erected his store. Some five or six years later Friar sold his store to Crockett Cardwell, and it was then known as Cardwell1 s Store, with Leroy Fudge as mana­ger. In 1847 Mr. Cardwell postmarked letters from his store as Cuero, De Witt County, Texas, although this was twenty six years before the town of Cuero was actually founded. About the same time that Friar erected his store, R.H.Chisholm installed a ferry boat where the La Bahia Road crossed the Guadalupe River. A.fterwards, when Clinton was the County Seat, there was considerable travel over Ohis­holm' s Crossing by prospectors, adventurers, and fugitives from justice on their way to Mexico or the unsettled South­west. In addition to his ferry, Chisholm put up a small grocery store made of logs; and .from this hut he sold coffee, sugar, tobacco, and whiskey. Clinton, from its very birth, was a whiskey-drinking town, notwithstanding the fact that many cultured and Christian people lived there. Concrete was the first town founded in the county; trhe date of its settlement was 1846-1847. The builders surrounded the town with a concrete wall--hence the name. Because the concrete was not mixed with the proper ingredients, the masonry of this wall disintegrated rapidly. Clinton was founded in 1847-1848, and established as the County Seat ln 1849. The county had already been named De Witt in honor of the empresario, Green De Witt, and the first County Seat was named Cameron in honor of Captain Ewing Cameron, who had lived at Victoria, Goliad, and near the Manahuilla and Coleta Creeks. On account of his bravery, Cameron's name should have been honored, especially by the citizens of De Witt County. Howe ver, when the Count'Y Seat was moved, not only was the name Cameron eliminated, but the name Clinton was substituted :for it. This created the im­pr ession that the colony and the County Seat were named in honor of De Witt Clint on, Colonial Governor of New York--an inference which has robbed both De Witt and Cameron of honors just,ly due them. Meyersville, named :for Adolph Meyer, becrune a post­office in 1848. Yorktown, named for Captain John York, al so established a post office at about the same time. Burns Station, which was named f'or one of the first settlers, Arthur Burns, had two or three stores and a post office as early as 1848. It is now called Verhelle. Terryville, named for J.D. Terry, afterward a County Judge of De Witt County, began in the late eighteen-forties. Stratton was named for John Stratton of Cuero. It was originally Crosson's Store, named for G.W. Crosson who operated a business near there during and after the Civil War. Hochheim began in the late forties and was first called "Dutchtown," because a majority of the residents were Ger­man. The town was named in honor of the Patriarch Hoch, whose rock building--originally used for a home--is still standing. Hoch in English means "high", and heim means 11 home," so Hochheim not only commemorates the pioneer citi­zen, but is also suggestive of the hills upon which it stands. Mr. Emil Hoch, a relative of this family, related these facts to Mrs. Ross Boothe of Gonzales: The house was built by Valentine Hoch in 1856 and 1857. He was an expert rock mason, having learned this trade in Germany. The rock was quarried nearby; the cement he made himself. The timbers were hand-hewn, and the shingles were hand-split. The house was plastered, both the walls and ceilings, with a nice white finish. For many years the house was used as a stage stand, and it is supposed to have been the oldest house be­ tween Gonzales and Old Indianola. It was so well built that it has lasted up until a few years ago when quite a bit of repair work was done in order to preserve it.7 The old rock house has always been a source of interest, and it should be given historical mention. Today it stands on the outskirts of Hochheim and is one of the few remaining original landmarks. (Plate 4.) Plate 4 The Hoch House Yoakum, founded at the advent of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway, occupied the site of Bansy Mahon's store of early times. The town is named for B.F.Yoakum, and it is divided by the county line. Part of the little city lies in De Witt County, and part in Lavaca County. Westhoff is built on the site of the Whiteso store of reconstruction 7 Correspondence, November, 1940. days. Nordheim is altogether of modern growth and has 8 no claim to antiquity. Settlement of De Witt County. When the first pioneers arrived in this section of Texas, fords were ready for their use--not Henry Ford's great models--but shallow places in the Guadalupe River now kn.own as the Power, Cottingham, and Mccrabb Fords. The Power Ford became the main crossing be­tween Mission Valley and the settlement east of the river. For untold years thousands of buffalo came from the cold northern plains to winter in the balmy coast section, re­turning north in the spring. Their bi-annual tramping a­cross the Cottingham Ford made the bank low, and it was much used by the colonists in passing from Goliad to Austin's Colony on the Colorado and Brazos Rivers. Sam Houston crossed this ford in 1836 on his way from La Bahia to New Washington, where he spent the night with his friend Arthur Burns, Dr. John Burns' grandfather. In 1828 John Mccrabb, grandfather of J.s. Mccrabb, and Squire Burns, Arthur's brother, and several Tonkawa braves crossed the Mccrabb Ford on the trail of the Comanche murderer of Mcsherry, the 8 Stell: 11 How De Witt Towns Were Named, 11 in the Cuero Record, October 28, 1936. 9 first white man killed in De Witt County. In 1826 Green De Witt allotted land both north and south of Irish Creek to Arthur Burns, and in 1829 a large tract south of that was allotted to Charles Lockhart. About this time the Mexican Government fixed the northern boundary of De Leon's grant to include these tracts. Thereupon De Leon wanted these families to move, but finally he consented for them to keep their land. However, De Leon, rather than 10 De Witt, obtained the premium land. Early settlers found millions of bleached bones of wild animals scattered about. Later these ghostly reminders of death were sold for fertilizer and brought many needed dol­11 lars to the settlers. John McCoy was another early settler in the present De Witt County • McCoy st arted the Upper Cuero Creek Settle­ment, and his tract was along the river just southwest o:fi'· the pr esent site of Concrete. McCoy Creek runs through it. In 182? Patrick Dowlearn secured land adjoining that which had been given Squire Bu.rns. Joseph Kent began holding 9 Notes of Mr. J.C. Murphree, Thomaston, Texas, and Mr. L.G.Covey. submitted by Miss Nell Murphree, niece of J.C. Murphree. 10 Notes of L.G.Covey. 11 Ibid. land in 1827; and in 1828 Tobias Wentworth became his neighbor. The following yeSX' Sanru.el McCoy obtained a tract north of John's. The same J09X' Captain R.H. Chisholm re­ceived a large grant west of the river, pSX't of which he gave for the Clinton townsite. In February, 1829, Joseph Tumlinson got land east of the river, across from the Chisholm grant, and he gave part of it for the first County Seat, Cameron. Also in 1829, Josiah and Hepsibeth Taylor arrived. Josiah was sick when he came to Texas, and he died in 1830. When the government granted the title on July 26, 1831, it was given to Hepsibeth, who later mar­ ried Patrick Dowlearn. Graves Fullshear received land in the Upper Cuero Creek neighborhood, and both he and K.W. 12 Barton located on the McCoy tract. Of the log houses built in the forties, fifties, and sixties by the Twohigs, Houstons, Judge Harris, Judge Irvin, Donald, Pridgen, Cottingham, e.nd Wright, not one is standing today. The Frank Rabel home west of the river was built about 1848 by Richard Power Ireland's son. The belles of this home, Mamie and Dora, attracted many admirers from across the Power Ford. The lower story of the R.E.Clegg home on Price's Creek was erected about 1848 of native 12 "List of the Original Settlers in De Witt•s Colony," Texas State Historical Association QuSX'terly, Vol. VIII, No. 2, Appendix I, october, 1904, p.164. rock for David Murphree, who was noted for his prize-win­ning horses and mules. The Ruby Pridgen place just north of Thomaston was built in 1852 by Bolivar Pridgen, Republiaan Senator under Governor Davis, and was rebuilt when "Pappy got back from the Senate." Irvin Anderson's home, three miles north of Thomaston, was built by carpenter Berry for Evans Weisiger about 1860. The Eastman home, one mile north of Thomaston, which was constructed in 1849 by Wiley 13 Pridgen, father of Bolivar, was burned in 1928. Built in 1826 south of Irish Creek, the two-story log structure of Arthur Burns housed the first inhabitants of what later became Burns Station, now Verhelle; a well marks the original home site. Arthur was in charge of an ox-train in the Runaway Scrape fleeing trom Santa Anna who, according to Texas historical quarterlies, passed through the Thomaston section en route to San Jacinto. Arthur's son, Columbus, born at Gonzales--where his mother went to the nearest doctor--was the first white child born in the locality. Columbus Burns became an important stoclanan. He branded 500 calves in 1862. At the round-ups he preferred to donate all the meat rather than let the men butcher stolen calves. Probably the next settlers in the Burns Station neigh­ 13 Notes of J.C.Murphree. borhood were the Rankins. Uncle Moses Rankin had a grist mill on the Guadalupe run by water power. This mill was washed away in the overflow of 1869, but the grinding rook is still in place. His second mill was run by e.n old Dutch windmill. People from far and near brought their grain to be ground in the Rankin mills. Other early settlers were the Myers, Neels, Lowes, and Suttons. When the railroad came in 1872 Burns Station was a village of about 150 inhabitants. Bill Thomas and Mr. Sherman had a hardware store; Charlie White had a general merchandise store; and Sam Myers was the Postmaster. The Methodist Church that stood just south of Irish Creek was the earl:J.est church in this section. The coming of the railroad brought the beginning of OUero and Thomas-ton, and business at Burns Station decreased rather than 14 increased from then on. In 1872 Colonel Nathan Thomas planned to donate land for the townsite of Thomaston; hence the name. General McCullough who had charge of the railroad construction located the station on the northern border of Thomaston, instead of farther south where the colonel wanted it. Angered almost to the fighting point, Colonel Thomas ref'used to give any land. Mrs. John P. Wright made a large donation 14 Data on Burns Station was compiled by Mr. L.G. Covey and Mr. J.C.Murphree. of the land she had inherited from her father, Charles 15 Lockhart, and Thomaston was placed on the map. ( Se·e note.) Development of Masonry. In the early part of 1840 there were but seven organized Masonic Lodges in the entire Repub­lic of Texas, one of which was located at Matagorda. Short­ly after arriving at Matagorda, James Smith had made con­tact with the brethren there and attended the meetings of both the Blue Lodge and the Royal Arch Chapter at his first opportunity. Several years after the ill-fate which met Captain Ewing Cameron in the Mier Expedition, Smith peti­tioned the Grand Lodge of Texas for authority to institute a Lodge of Free Masons in De Witt County--the first one there. Although he then lived in the growing town of Clinton, on account of his pleasant memories of the Cuero community, where he first began his career in Texas, and on account of his admiration for his brother Mason, Ewing Cameron, Smith requested that the f1rst Lodge in De Witt County should be called Cameron and be located at Cuero--which at that time meant Cardwell's Store. In his quiet, friendly way, Smith went several miles to visit Masons who were members of the Lodge at Gonzales, and persuaded them to join him in his 15 Notes of J.C.Murphree. Note: Map I shows the first land grants and the names of the grantees. petition to the Grand Lodge for authority to organize and institute a Lodge with name and location of his own choos­ ing. In 1850 Smith was granted a dispensation from the Grand Lodge of Texas to institute a Masonic Lodge; and the name of the Lodge was to be Cameron; its location Cuero. Cameron Lodge continued its meetings at Carmvell•s Store, or Cuero, for four years. In the year 1855, it was moved to Clinton, but Mr. Smith, who had a permanent residence at Clinton and who had founded and fostered this Lodge from its inception and sanctioned the new location, saw to it that the Lodge retained the name of Cameron. In 1863 the second Masonic Lodge in De Witt County was organized at Yorktown, and called Coleto Lodge. It functioned until 186~ when the Grand Lodge took up its charter. In 1871 some of the Yorktown members of the sus­pended Coleto Lodge petitionerl the Grand Master for a new Lodge. They were granted a special dispensation to oper­ate a chapter to be designated as the Yorktown Lodge. It existed three years under this dispensation but never had a charter. In the year 1875 Cameron Lodge was moved by common consent from Clinton to Yorktown, and the Yorktown Masons enrolled as members of Cameron Lodge which has con­tinued in active existence to the present time. The members point with pride to the old charter, issued in 1851. The roll of charter members inscribed thereon shows the name of James Smith heading the list. In 1855, when the Cameron Lodge was moved to Clinton, the Masons in the Concrete vicinity petitioned for a Lodge to be located in the thriving town of Concrete. The char­ ter was readily granted, making this the third Masonic Lodge instituted in De Witt County. In 1876 this chapter was moved to Hoohheim, and the name was changed from Con­crete to Hochheim, although it retained the original rec­ords and equipment or the Concrete Lodge. In the year 1874, c.c. Howerton and several other resident Masons ot Cuero petltioned the Grand Lodge, which met that year in Houston, Texas, for permission to organize a Free Masons Lodge at Cuero. Permission was granted, and on the night of June 6, 1874, the petitioners met and or­ 16 ganized Cuero Lodge, Number 409. Business Enterprise. No doubt De Witt County's earli­est business enterprises were in the Upper Cuero Creek Settlement. In 1840 there was a post office located in the William A. Blair home. Nearby the Grimes brothers from Liverpool, England, had a dry goods store; and Dr. Duck, an excellent physician from London, practiced 16 Stell, "Lodges in De Witt County," Cuero Record, October 28, 1936. medicine, and sold medicine from his own small drug store to the neighbors. (Dr. Duck moved to Corpus Christi in 1846.) On the border betwen the Upper and Lower Settlements the D.B.Friar combination home, store and post office was 17 established in the early forties. In January, 1851, James Smith started managing a branch store at Clinton for Captain Wheeler of Victoria. The initial assignment of 18 merchandise was valued at $12,000. Mr. Smith stated that the first year's sales amounted to $12,000, the second year's to $18,000. Afher that Captain Wheeler's brother­19 in-law, Mr. Bwornson, had charge of the store. In 1850 Clinton's hotrel was a one-room log house, where, during Court, the Judge and lawyers found enter­tainment. The cooking was done out-of-doors, and the t .able was spread in the open air. Later Oliver Stapp built a frame hotel. The main feature of the opening supper was oysters, which had been brought up from the coast in the shells--the first fresh oysters ever served in the county. Before 1850 Clinton had an old horse mill. The county's only water-power mill was the gristmill belonging to Uncle Moses Rankin, which has already been described. 1'7 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. III, P• 151. 18 Ibid., Vol. IV, P• 61. 19­~., Vol. IV, P• 64. After a time Dr. Duck, James B. Smith, son of James N. Smith, and the two Grimes brothers formed a theatrical club. Dr. Duck composed some very good plays. With the help of some minor characters, whom they taught to act the parts, the club sometimes gave plays at the regular Satur­day evening gatherings. One play, called "Recruiting Of­ficers and Men for Indian Warfare", was especially good. A young Congressman from Georgia who, at that time, was camping with a party near the Blair home, was costumed in a uniform from the Grimes Store and took the part of the Recruiting Officer. His eloquent speech and stirring ap­peal for volunteers made quite a hit with the audience. One of the Scotchmen took the part of an old lady whose son had volunteered and was leaving to enter the service. As the mother bade him goodbye she admonished him for his mother's sake never to be wounded in the back. Costumed in a pretty dress, James B. Smith acted the part of a young lady over whom two young men had such a violent quarrel that they fought a duel. One was killed and in the next scene the other was married to the charming lady. All this was acted so realistically that some in the audience thought for a time that there had been a real fight and murder. There was no entrance charge for these plays; they 48 20 were given solely for entertainment. In regard to the growth of Clinton at this time, Smith recorded the following: There was a Few Settlers In Clinton before It was Established as a County Seat It was a Small place and Much Dissipation In Drinking Ga.mbl.ing &c .-­No Preaching near us--The Different Elections for a County Seat Caused Much oppostion (sic] to Clinton for a Long Time Public Stages for Passengers Run F'rom the Bay up to Austin and Elsewhere on the North Side of the Guadalupe about Six Miles of Clinton and al­so Stages Run From the Bay to San Antonio a.bout ten miles South of us--Thus Clinton was Left tlone Wi th­out Much Public Conveyance of any Kind--2 I Sold My Two Hundred Acres of Land on the River Where I Lived when I went to Cameron. And with the Proceeds of the Sale of this Land I purchased 3200 acres of La.nd on Cuero Creek and Its water about one Third Timber Land and the other Prairie almost as Rich as the River Land--I gave Mr. Murphree one Thousand acres of Land Several Families Settled in~r Clinton and In a Short time Several Young Lawyers--~2 The n8llles of some of the doctors who resided in Olin- ton at this time are: Dr. Leak, Dr. A.J.Hod.ge, Dr. Black­23 well, and Dr. Goodwin. Dr. Williams, who had lived at La Grange, moved to Clinton and built near Smith's house. The first glass window panes brought to Clinton were seen in the windows of Dr. Willia.ms' home. Later young Dr. Robin­ 20 Diary .£! James N. Smith, Vol. III, P• 151. 21 Ibid., Vol. IV, P• 46. 22­Ibid., Vole IV, P• 60· 23­~-, Vol. IV, P• 70. son from Tennessee built a concrete house on a lot ad­joining Smith's land. He was Smith's family physician for 24 many yearsJ and he was an elder in the Live Oak Church. An epidemic of influenza in the Clinton neighborhood in February, 1851, caused thirteen deaths. Little Mary Mu!'Phree was a victim, and tradition has it that she was the first person to be buried in the Clinton Cemetery. Probably the oldest burying ground in the county is the Taylor Grave Yard, near Burns Station, in which Josiah Tay­ 25 lor, nephew of Zachary Taylor, was buried about 1830. During the 1850's and until the Civil War, many plan­tations were established, and corn and cotton were raised. After the Civil War, soldiers returned to find herds scat­tered, fields weed-grown, and many families reduced to want. These were paroled soldiers, disfranchised, and they were forced to begin life anew. This they did brave­ly. DeWitt County settled rapidly. For awhile lawless­ness was in evidence, but after a time order was restored and prosperity began to repay the gallant efforts of the people. 24 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. IV, P• 76. 25 Notes of L.G.Covey. Background Development Around Cuero. That the County of De Witt continued to grow, (see note), and put forth an effort to prosper is evidenced by an item which appeared in the Gonzales Inquirer, which follows: We call attention to the ad in another column of De Witt's Ferry. Our friend Judge De Witt has just finished, at considerable expense a large new boat built entirely of oak, except the gunnels which are of heart pine by which he proposes to transmit passen­gers, wagons, teams, etc. across the Guadalupe. The Judge is an old hand at this business and emigrants and travelers will always find him ready and obliging.26 The advertisement appeared at a later date. It stated: Calculated to cross wagons of the largest size and stock of all kinds and on the direct road leading to all the following places: from Gonzales up and down the west side of the Guadalupe River viz. San Antonio, Helena, Yorktown, Clinton in De Witt County, and to the Cibolo, ~1711ta Clara, Colato, and to all parts of the Sandles. On July 27, 1846, a road was ordered, surveyed, and laid out from Patrick Dowlearn's place, now better described as being from the Clinton Bridge to the Breeden Farm on the new section of the Victoria Highway, to connect with the old La Bahia Road on the north side of the Guadalupe River crossing. March, 1847, the second road order was issued in 26 Gonzales Inquirer, November 26, 1853. 27 Ibid., Dec. 3, 1853. Note: Viktor Bracht, in his book Texas in 1848, P• 61, states that at the close of 1847 the assessorS-a.na-collectors took a census of De Witt County, and the population was found to be 1,173. De Witt County, a.uthorlz1ng a roadway to be opened from the Gonzales-Victoria Hoad to a poj_nt not over one mile from N.B.Burkett•s place near the present community of 28 Hochheim. The majority of the people who migrated to De Witt County were German and the count-y has maintained a large and substantial German citizenship. These people desired to settle the:lr families and attain a livel:lhood which would assure comfort and security through the years. The Gon­zales Inqulrer said: A large number of German emigrants have, within the last week, passed through our town on their way to the mountains and other points, with the view of openlng farms. One company had with them a large wagon loaded with sheep brought over from Germany which they .intend cross:lng with and improv:lng the present breed.29 'fhe early settlement of these German communities is very interesting. Texas had just fought her war with Mex­ 30 ico when the first German family came to Meyersvil.le, and pltched camp on the Coleto Creek, where their descend­31 ants still reside as good, law-abiding citizens. These early Germans experienced the hardships of the pioneer. 28 Cuero Record, December 31, 1935. 29 Gonzales Inquirer, July 2, 1853. 30 Myersville was named for Adolph Meyer. See Appendix G. 31 Cuero Record, October, 1923. Plate 5 Judge William Dreier The parents of Judge William Dreier, (Plate 5), Jus­ tice of the Peace, who was born and reared in the Meyers­ ville community, and who is now over eighty, were among the first Germans to come to Texas. Judge Dreier's narra­ tive is as follows: In 1847, my parents sailed for America and arrived at Texas in 1848. Mrs. W.G.Eichols, my sister, was the first child to be born in the Meyersville colony. Mr. Fritz Hausmann and Mr. Adolph Meyer had been living at Meyersville since 1846. They had a small log hut built and covered with grass. A serious handicap to the men was that they did not know how to handle an axe, as back in the old country there was no wood to burn but peat or turf was used for fuel. Now they had to learn to cut large trees, and split the logs to build houses and split shingle and split rails to fence in ground for fields. After a house was built they had to take a large broad axe to hew the logs somewhat straight on the inside so they could nail the cracks up with split weatherboards and cover the roof with shingles. The shingles were three feet long on my grandfather's house, but the roof did not leak. Unlike many of the earlier colonists of the New Eng­land States who traded glass beads for their lands, the settlers of these German communities of De Witt County brought some money with them and they bought and paid for the land they occupied. My father, Fred Dreier, had bought 100 acres of land from Mr. Pettus on the 12 mile Coleto at $1 per acre, and he built his house upon it. Later my father and Fritz Hausmann, who lived close together and were brother-in-laws, and who had worked in a brick yard in Germany as their trade, burned some bricks and sold enough of them so they could each buy himself fifty acres of land. John York was a good neighbor and very good to the newcomers. He showed them how to put up the houses. My grandfather, Henry Dreier, bought a yoke of oxen with which to drag the logs to the place to put up a house. All the settlers built their houses within a tew yards of the Coleto Creek to be near a supply of water because they did not know how to dig a well. The first year the farmers of the new Meyersville Community had to break their ground for planting with a spade and grubbing hoe. The next year my grandfather made himself a wooden plow. They had wooden mould boards and plows in Germany and my grandfather had brought him along an iron share or plow point. Mr. York crone by and told him the plow was no good, but when he returned a week later and found my grandfather plowing with it, he pushed him away, plowed a furrow himself, and told him the plow was alright. Mr. York would come every week to see what the Dutchmans were doing. When provisions ran short in the new Meyersville settle­ment, the settlers had to go to Victoria to get more. They made trips on foot and brought back such provisions as they could carry. Later my father bought some teams and started a freight-hauling business to and from San Antonio, which he continued until the war broke out, and then he hauled cotton to Mexico. We had to make our own ropes out of hair by hand as there were no grass ropes for sale. My father had made himself a spinning machine to spin hair, and William Hausmann and Gus Diety would come to our house and spin hair for ropes. The nearest mill at that time was the Strieber mill at Yorktown, and my uncle, Louis Dreier, would make the rounds gathering up the corn, take it to Yorktown and return which would require the biggest part of a week. After the war finally ended, my father took up his teaming work again and hauled freight from Indianola to San Antonio. In 1868 my father and Fred Hausmann built the first cotton gin at Mayersville and also a griat mill. People thought they were making great sacrifices dur­ing the World War, but they had a picnic compared to what the pioneers went through during the C1vil War. ~oasted corn and acorns 1n boiling water was served for coffee.32 ­ Johnson, in his book A History £f. Texas and Texans, says that in 1850 the population of De Witt County was 1,148 whites and 568 Negroes. The following census .figure s are from the same source : Year Population 1870 6,443 1880 10,082 1890 14,307 1900 21,311 1910 23,501 Johnson stated that 1,502 inhabitants of the county were 32 Cuero Record, October, 1923. born in Germany, while 2,693 were of German parentage. Other foreign elements in the population were Austrian 33 and Me.xican. The increase of taxable values in the past 40 years is shown by the following table: Year Valuation 1882 $2,975,937 1890 1,270,392 1903 1913 6,812,870 18,563,040 34 Mr. Albert Meyer, the youngest son of the founder of Meyersville, is 70 years old and resides in Weesatch, Texas. Mr. Meyer gives the following facts about Meyers­ villes The first pastors at Meyersville had to serve as ministers and school teachers at $40 per month, which meant to teach school all the week and preach on Sun­day. The following is a list of the names of pastors of St. John's Lutheran Church: A. Sager, Edward Mueller, J.J.Schaeg, s. Fehner, T. Holzinger, H. Pfenniger, M. Oehler, G. Stricker, w. Westerhoff, F. Gebstmann, p. Gogolin, H.C.Poehlmann, H.C. Wehmeyer, M. Heinrich, and E.L. Arhelger. Mr. Stricker was the last pastor who served as minister and teacher. I went three weeks to Pastor Stricker•s school. Father moved to Weesatch in 1882. The first members and organizers of St. John Lutheran Church are as follows: my father, Adolph Meyer, Friederich Hausmann, August Rabke, Frank Hoermann, Ludwig Franke, w. Goebert, A. Haun, Heinrich Roesner, Chris Moeller, Chris Thime, Mr. Dreier, Jacob Schiwetz, George Schiwetz, Gottlieb Hausmann, Chris Hartmann, w. Schorlemmer, Hernh Eckert, and Arhens Adikes. In a write-up of the fiftieth an­ 33 Johnson: A History of Texas and Texans,Vol. II, pp.673-674. 34 Ibid. - niversary celebration these names are mentioned as such who came over from Germany in June 1846, ex­cept my father who came over in 1845. My father's first taxes were only 25t on ninety acres of land. I remember when my elder brothers wore the old time pistols called the cap and ball six shooters, and they would wear them to church, and on the way back home practice shooting Jack-rabbits. It was no fine to wear such guns. Father built his flrst house of post-oak trees split in half with the ends dove-tailed in order to be fit­tred and fastened with wooden pegs. The open places between the logs were filled with a mixture of moss, clay and ashes. This made a soft plastic to be used in order to exclude the cold weather. The rooi' was made of the long grasses which were found in abundance in those days. The floor was made of ashes and adobe ground together and water added to this made a sol id floor. Father lost this house by fire and had to con­struct another. Father carried one bushel of corn on his back at a time to Clinton which was about ten miles to the old time windmill driven by wind power. Later on he found out how to crease a horse by shootlng it through the neck on a curly spot which is found on any horse from 12 to 14 inches down the neck from the ear. The cap and ball rifle that he brought from Germany was a good one. Af'ter making this accurate shot the horse fell down unconscious for about five minutes which gave father time to tie his rope to him. After tam­ing the horse, father used him to carry his pro­visions. He lost his first horse by using a hobble instead of staking him. The horse got tangl ed up in the long grass, which was as high as your head in those days, and could not be found until buzzards were seen .flying. So father had to crease him another horse. He had plenty of all kinds of wild meat. The question was to be a good shot. My father fought in the last battle against the Indians. This was when Captain York was killed and also his brother-in-law, James M. Bell, who was trying to save York at the Escondida Creek near Karnes City, Texas. We made rail fences and had no other means to make Plate 6 Adolph Meyer, the founder of Meyersville, and his wife. Plate 7 The father of Adolph Meyer, Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Meyer and children. a field. The fence was in a zig-zag with a rider on top. The first fence father made out of post-oak trees by splitting rails and he fenced him in a field at Mayersville. He made his soap out of hog grease and ashes lye. The lye was made by filling a barrel of ashes and pouring water on top and taking the drippings of the ashes water over and over again, through the barrel of ashes until it was strong enough to carry a hen egg. My father used this for the same purpose as we use concentrated lye now-a­days. Also, to wean calves from cows he would split the point of the calves' tongue which made them quit sucking. our food was just plain corn bread. When mother had no butter she spread hog lard over our bread and sprinkled salt to flavor. Wild meat was eaten, too. We didn't get to eat much flour except on Sundays. The out-door enjoyments in the summer were something grand and it was f'un to locate a bee-tree. The men folks would chop it down and the lady folks would prepare hot biscuits made in the old time Dutch oven, now called skillets. Biscuits, butter, and honey was considered a real picnic.35 ( See Plates 6 and 7.) Building of ~Railroad. The founding of Cuero dates back to the building of the Gulf-Western, Texas and Pacific Railroad in 1873. In 1872 Southwest and Western Texas had no railroad and travel over this vast section of the state was by wagon and stage. Colonel Gustave Schleicher proposed to build a railroad from Indianola to San Antonio and he secured immediate backing. Construe­ tion of the railroad was then begun. A contemporary news­ paper observed: Since our last issue, we have heard through the 35 Correspondence, January, 1942. Houston TeleS!"aph of the arrival in Texas of Mr. Pierce, the President of the Columbus Road. Bids will be received until the 30th. of January for building 40 miles of the road. A surveying party is on the Gulf locating this side of Cuero, and it is thought that active operations will be resumed in a few weeks. The track is nearlycompleted to Cuero. It is expected that work will soon be commenced on the narrow gauge to run from Houston direct to New Braunfels via Lockhart. Altogether the prospects are brightening.36 When the railroad was built as far as Cuero, and a ter­ minus established, the little city sprung up on the bare 37 prairie. From the San Antonio Ledger, it appears that there had been agitation as early as 1853 for a railroad to con­ nect the various sections of the country. In regard to the contemplated road, the Ledger stated: our comnru.nicant under the signatures of a stock­holder does wrong in drawing the inference that he would intimate the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad would not be built under present auspices. We aver igno­rance on the subject; from the stockholders' own showing they enjoy facilities enough to predicate loans sufficient for the purpose. We urged in our meek article the necessity of a combination of all the parts of the State to afford the construction of a great State trunk. Means drawn from particular 36 Southwestern Index, Gonzales, Texas, January 19,1873. 37 Cuero Record, December 31, 1935. minor sections will militate against our scheme. We have ever regarded Galveston as the only real point of entry in Texas. No matter• Anything for a eoast communication. We must have egress. The con­tract has been made. So there the matter ends, un­less the stockholders release themselves from their liability by due course of law. The general feeling among us is to obtain a road at all hazards, even though Jones and Devine pocket millions of profit. Men say if the present contract be annulled, years will elapse ere a successf'ul plan be adopted. Then again there will be a most respectable resistance to the collection of subscriptions. The contract will be attacked in courts of justice. It is the duty of a decent newspaper to publish such truths. We shall do it. We want any Road. The one soonest built meets our approval. We yet contend for the absorbing truth. A Pacific Railroad forever.38 Also two months later a report of the special com­ mittee on the letting of the contract for the construc­ tion of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad directed to the president and directors of that railroad stated: The undersigned committee appointed to report the facts connected with the ratification of the contract between Messrs. Jones and Devine and the company for the construction of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad would most respectf'ully submit for the in­formation of the stockholders, the following state­ment: Your committee beg leave to premise a short history of the San Antonio and Mexican Gulf Railroad from its origin till the date of the construction. This road, it is well known, was projected by a few public spirited individuals of San Antonio in the fall of 1850. A charter was shortly afterwards pro­cured from the Legislature of the State, and the 38 San Antonio Ledger, September 3, 1853. 60 Company duly organized. All at that time admitted the importance and even the necessity of the road; but many of our most wealthy citizens refused to em­bark their means in an enterprise which they regarded as extremely doubtful, if not hopeless. Thus the burden of the enterprise, upon the more public spirited of our citizens, was greatly increased. At an early day an agent was dispatched to the north to ascertain whether capitalists could be induced to take an interest in the road. His mission was entirely unsuccessful and resulted in not the slightest good to the Company. An­other serious difficulty was experienced from the fact. that the charter did not fix the terminus of the road on the Gulf, but gave to the Directory the power to fix the terminus at any point from Galveston to Corpus Christi. Thus the advocates of every point became solicitious to secure the terminus, and offered liberal conditional donations and subscriptions. But as these could not be exacted till after the terminus was definitely fixed, of course the whole burden of the reconnoissances and surveys of the different routes devolved upon the stockholders in Bexar. These ex­penses were heavy, considering the amount of stock subscribed and the frequent calls for stock were well calculated to render discontented those who are only accustomed to consider innnediate results. Many at the time refused to pay up their installments, alleging the road could not and would not be built. But under all these adverse circumstances, a corps of engineers was organized in the spring of 1852, under Colonel J.E. Johnson, chief engineer for the purpose of surveying the various routes from San Antonio to Saluria, Powder Horn Bayou, Lavaca and T~es Palacios. These surveys were made with a view to ascertain the best or moat practical route, and also as a preliminary to the final fixing of the terminus. The surveys were com­pleted in July 1852, and the time appointed for de­claring the terminus, and letting the road or such a part thereof as could be let, was the thirteenth day of December of the same year. The estimates of the engineers then made for the grading culverts, bridges and super structure of the road, upon the several routes were as follows; to wit: From San Antonio to Powder Horn Bayou, a distance of 138-3-100 miles $1,431,700. To Palacios 164 miles $1,520,800. To Saluria by way of Clinton 153-3-100 miles $1,400,000. Thus it will be seen, these estimates average about $10,000 per mile, but it must be borne in mind that the equipment of the road are not included, nor were the costs of sheds, watertanks, engineering, superintending the work, and contingen­cies estimated. The terminus was fixed at Saluria, with a branch to touch at Lavaca but not without great dissatisfaction to those interested in other rival points.39 The freight and travel to San Antonio and El Paso-­in fact the whole Southwest and a part of central Texas-­entered by way of Indianola via the Morgan Steronship Line plying between New Orleans and that harbor. The Houston and Texas Railroad connected the port with Houston and the Southern Pacific extended as far as Columbus. But most traffic through this section to San Antonio continued by prairie freighter and wagon. At that time De Witt and adjoining counties were the Southwest frontier. Lumber was hauled from the terminus of the railroad in wagons. The location of the terminus favored the little city of Cuero, and soon new buildings began to spring up. Among the early homes were those of Ben McCullough, William Hausmann, Gustave Schleicher, and George Law. William Craig was station agent. The train crew included Captain Gould, conductor, Pat Smith and Jrones Mooney, engineer, and Festus Farnsworth, brakeman. 39 Gonzales Inquirer, November 5, 1853. A newspaper clipping printed at the time of the retirement of Festus Farnsworth read: I began work at Indianola on the coast long be­fore that little town was destroyed by a tropical hurricane. There have been many changes. The changes in passenger tariff have been marked, for in the old days the rate from Indianola to Victoria-­38 miles--was $2.50; from Indianola to Cuero--28 miles--$2.00. My first train was an excursion from Victoria to Cuero on July 4. It consisted of four flat cars provided with sideboards to keep the passengers from falling off, and benches nailed to the floor, three open stock cars with canvas covers, a caboose, and one coach.40 Many advertisements which gave evidence that business was flourishing and that an interest was manifested in a 41 growing community appeared in the San Antonio Ledger. Some of the business firms were: J.R.Nagle, Wholesale and Retail Dealer in Stoves, Tinware, Casting, Cutlery, and Iron,Steel, and Hardware; w. Westoff and Company, Importers and Dealers in Pascagoula and Florida Pine; R. Fromme (Successor to Heyek and Brother) Exclusively Forwardly and Commission Merchant; Muti Hotel, John Muti, proprietor; Otto Starker, Banker, Stockmen•s Accounts Solicited, Liberal Cash Advances made on consignments of produce shipped to my correspondent in the United States 40 From the Notes of Mr. J.C.Murphree, from Railroad Guide, July, 1873. 41 San Antonio Ledger, September 3, 1853. and Europe. Some of the early law firms were Friend and Smith, and Rudolph Kleberg. Names of pioneer doctors were: Doctor Friend, Doctor A.J.Reuse, and Doctor G.H.Harris. The first editor of the Cuero Record, (then called the Cuero Star), was Rudolph Kleberg. Dr. Rudolph Frank was 42 the first postmaster. Since the death of Thomas Stell, Mrs. Otto Buchel is the oldest surviving pioneer in Cuero. She has lived there since 1872, having come from Fort Stockton with her parents in a wagon train with twelve covered wagons. They freighted from New Orleans to El Paso and Mexico, and on each jour­ney a stop was necessary at a certain water hole. This was where the Indians made their attacks. In an inter­view with this writer, Mrs. Buchel related the following interesting facts: The train we were to come out on in November was taken by the Indians. We had to travel until we came to this hole. My brother and I thought the camp fire was beautif'ul. Then we heard the war-hoop. We were put in the wagons and covered with hide. The men brought the mules back and hitched them. We traveled night and day until we got to Pecos. The mules were without water all that time. When we got back here in Cuero, my father rented a house in old Clinton. My father and Colonel Schleicher surveyed the town of Cuero. A train brought lumber 42 CU.ero Record, December 31, 1935. from Victoria. My father built the railroad from Cuero to Port Lavaca. Mr. French and Mr. Cunningham had land down here and wantedgo make use of it so 4 they built a railroad in '72. The first hospital at Cuero was just two rooms, up­stairs over the Catholic School at the back of the Gath­olic Church, and it was called Salome. It was started in 1892 by Dr. Joe Reuss, and was managed by the Catholic Sisters. Although it was poorly equipped, it was better than no hospital. Soon a larger Salome Hospital was built on Factory Hill by the Hospital Association, of which Mrs. Welch was president, Mrs. W.R. Rathbone, secretary, and Mrs. Otto Buchel, first and only treasurer. Money was collect­ed by nickel contributions, 25¢ fees, and entertainments. The first morning $34.75 was raised. The Salome Hospital was chartered by the State February 6, 1893. Dr. Joe Reuss was superintendent, Dr. D.B. Blake, medical and sanitary inspector, Dr. Joe Lackey, house physician, Mrs. Hitchens, matron, and Misses Seacamp and Etta Mccrae were nurses. The Salome Hospital was a two-story frame build­ing with an operating room, ten patients' rooms, two wards --one for men, and one for Negroes. Dr. Reuss was the 43 Interview, June, 1939. head doctor until 1904, when he went to Dallas. Then Dr. Fred Kirkham rent~d the hospital, and later Dr. J.W. Burns. Part of the time the hospital had a training school from which a number of nurses graduated. Dr. Reuss returned from Dallas, and about 1912 he bought the Salome Hospital for $3600 and operated it as a private hospital until 1916. The $3600 remained in the Runge Bank until it failed. In 1936, the treasurer, Mrs. Otto Buchel, divided the ref'unded money equally between the Lutheran and Burns Hospitals. In 1912 Dr. John w. Burns built his four-story, brick hospital in north Cuero. It has a modernly equipped oper­ating room which ranks third in the state. It also has X-ray and clinical laboratories, under the direction of Dr. James Pridgen. The hospital has thirty five patients' rooms and a basement ward. It has sufficient radium for the treatment of cancer. From 1916 to 1930 the Burns Hospital maintained a training school under a state char­ter with three graduate nurses and at least ten student nurses. Fifteen nurses graduated and all successf'ully passed the State Board of Examination for Registered Nurses degrees. The Burns Hospital has twice been approved by the American College of Surgeons. From 1912 to 1934 the Burns Hospital was managed by Dr. John Burns and his 66 sons Gillette and Arthur. In October, 1934, the Catholic Sisters bought it, but it is still called the Burns Hos­pital, and the Burns Clinic still has offices and a closed surgeons staff there. In 1916 Dr. Joe Reuss built a beautif'ul three-story, brick hospital in north Cuero, and named it the Reuss Hos­pital. It has two modernly equipped operating rooms, X­ray and clinical laboratories, thirty patients' rooms, and a nursery. Dr. Reuss managed the hospital until his death in 1919. It was then managed by the estate for several years. Later, Dr. Boothe bought it and operated it as the Boothe Hospital for a while. The Lutherans bought it January 1, 1928, and spent $10,000 for improvements. rt is now called the Lutheran Reuss Memorial Hospital. (See Note.) Note:The information on hospitals in Cuero was secured through Mrs. Otto Buchel. As she expresaed it: The Sisters of the Catholic Church had two rooms where they taught. We put all the children in one room and made an operating room of the other. Then we were con­fronted with the difficulty of raising f'unds. We asked everyone to give us st a month,and the membership fee was2ot. We had little books with the names in it and we went around each month to collect. By having drills and dances we raised $100 each month. Mr. Starker gave ua two lots on the other side of town. When the cotton mill closed, those lands were waiting to be sold so we bought it. We had at this time $3,000. We began to build a hospital. It was open to all doctors. Dr. Lacky was house physician. •••They gave us $1 a day for linen and use of the hospital. The Stonewall Fire Company was the first volunteer fire company in CUero. It was organized on March 24, 1881, and at the first meeting Judge Threlkeld was elected pres­ident and C.J. Martin was elected secretary pro tern. A com­mittee of five was appointed to draft the constitution and by-laws, these being Dr.D.B. Blake, 0.1. Crouch, Gus Tips, Otto Buchel and James Wetherel. At a call meeting in the town hall April 11, 1881, a committee was appointed to or­der red shirts and black trousers as uniforms. Mr. Menser­rate presented the company with a hand pump. Mrs. D.B. Blake gave a streamer on which was embroidered the motto "Courage and Success". Mrs. John Welch and lady members of the company presented a beautifUlly embroidered silk banner. The first foreman was Mr. v. Weldon. The first fire bell, one formerly used by the Home Protection Club when outlaws came in to shoot up the town, hung in the south­east corner of South Railroad Street and Esplanade. This lo­cation was later occupied by Stonewall Fire Company No. 2, when the original company was reorganized and incorporated and built a fire house on the site occupied by the present fire station. Still later the city took over the incorpor­ated Company, made a fire department of it, razed the old 44 building, and built the present brick structure. 44 CUero Record, October 28, 1936. Article by Mrs. Lelia Seeligson. 68 Early Religious Development. Before the Battle of San Jacinto there were no legal protestant churches, for Catholicism was the legalized faith in all the colonies due to the terms under which the Mexican Goverrunent granted rights to empresarios. Perusal of available data suggests that perhaps the earliest beginnings in the field of re­ligion other than Catholicism, in De Witt County, took place about 1841 or 1842, when Sumner Bacon, from Arkansas, distributed Bibles and began preaching and teaching school. He was not an ordained minister. In 1843 Benjamin Chase, agent of the American Bible Society for the State of Mis­sissippi, joined Bacon, and they labored together in Austin's and De Witt's colonies. Many hardships ensued. Finally Bacon wrote to Austin telling him of the diffi­culties in the colonies. He said that the colonists were not allowed to practice their own religions publicly; he suggested that someone be sent to uphold the authority because the colonists had grown apart from the Roman 45 Catholic doctrine and would not be reconciled to it. James Smith of North Carolina came to Texas as early as 1840. Upon his arrival in Texas, he secured a teaching 46 position at Tide Haven on Matagorda Bay, but Mr. Blair 45 Red: Texas Colonists and Rel:tgion, p. 71. 46 Blair was from Guadalupe County, and was one of Smith's first acquaintances in Texas. Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. III, P• 144. ad'V7ised Smith not to reside at Tide Haven because it was an unhealthy place. He promised to build Smith a fine school. Soon after this school was started, Smith began a Sabbath School, the first on the Guadalupe River. Of it, he wrote: I had a Box of Sabbath School Books and Mr. Thomas Grimes--one of the Scotchmen who was a Pious Young Man assisted Me in this School--it was Largely at­tended As I Lived in the Centre of the Two Neighbor­hoods--After some Time Mr. Grimes Proposed we would Make it a Prayer Meeting also Which we did--and Him and Myself would Hold Prayers Toi~ther with Singingand Reading the Scriptures &c.-­ After the Battle of Plum Creek, the school did not flourish because many parents were afraid to send their children away from home, but Smith continued to keep up his Sabbath School. He tells us in his diary that a Methodist circuit preacher, named Sneed, was sent to preach in the Guadalupe River territory. This man made Smith's house his headquarters, and he preached once a month at the school. Smith and Judge Baker were Presby­terians, but, until a church of that faith could be estab­lished, they were willing to become members of Sneed's church, if he would start one. However, while Sneed was away, two Cumberland Presbyterian preachers from Kentucky arrived, and they were persuaded to start a Presbyterian 47 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. III, P• 154. 48 Church. Smith gi~s a complete outline of the development of religion after his arrival in De Witt County, including the organization of the first church at Concrete, and the original "old school Presbyterian", which was organized July 8, 1849, in the parlor of Dr. Robert Peebles' home, in the following passages: In the First of the Month of November of this year 1845--I started to go Back to the Guadalupe River-­•• •The Family had Reached my Home on the Guadalupe And the day after I arrived with the Cattle--After Christ­mas I taught a School near where the Town of Concrete is now Located--There had been quite a Revival of Re­ligion in this neighborhood--While I was on Mill Creek In the Methodist Church And There being no Cumberland Presbyterian Preaching for a year or two past The Mem­bers of the CUmberland Presbyterians joined the Methodist with an understanding that when they Secured a Preacher of their own Church to Preach for them They would With­draw and organize Their own Church once more--There came a Cumberland Presbyterian Preacher and was Preaching a Short time before I got Back to my Home--The old Meth­odist circuit Rider--Who had Rode this circuit for a year or two (a Rev. Mr. Devilbus) Had Left for a North­ern Oircuit--it was while he Preached Here That the Cum­berland Members Had Joined the Methodist as I before stated--And my old Friend Mr James M. Baker had acted as a Class Leader in the Methodist Church with Rev. Mr. Devilbus Rode the Circuit--It was a Great pleasure to me to find that there was Preaching once a month so near me by both of the Denominations I went among the Neigh­bors and Got them to Build a Good Large Hewed Log Meet­ing House and the owner of the Land whose Family had Joined the CUmberland Presbyterian Church--Made a Deed to a Few acres of Land to that Church The New Circuit Rider who was to Ride this Circuit Had not arrived when I got back--He came on in the Early part of the Year 1846 The CUmberlands had withdrawn their money from 48 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. III, p. 172. the Methodist and had their Regular Preaching some time before this New Methodist Preacher Came on--He had not as many Members in his Church as there was in the CU.m­berland Church--He had Heard of the withdrawal before he Got to His Appointment at this Neighborhood--49 Some time later, a stranger, driving in a closed car­ riage with his wife, sister, and three children, arrived at Smith's home. This was the Reverend Mr. Charlotte, from Indiana, who had brought a letter of introduction to Smith from an old friend, Reverend Hugh Wilson. Smith was most anxious for this man to stay and preach for the church in Cameron, but Mr. Charlotte said he had been sent as a mis­50 sionary to Victoria, and he ref'used to stay with Smith. Smith's account of the organization of the churches continues: The week after his (Charlotte's) arrival at Victoria-­the Rev. Daniel Baker From Mississippi--The Great Re­vivalist Presbyterian Preacher arrived in Victoria--and Held a Protracted meeting For Many Days--the Rev. Mr. Blair and Rev. Dr. Cock assisting Him--This was a Pleasant meeting of Christians Several Professed Re­ligion--Mrs. Smith and myself attended the meeting-­the members of Victoria church were by no ways pleased with Rev. Mr. Charlotte--but Rev. Doctor Baker pre­vailed on them to Keep him 4 months until the Rev. Joel T. Case arrived as Pastor--Rev. Daniel Baker made an appointment to Hold a Protracted Meeting at Cameron He did So--We had Seats and an Arbor made near the River Back and He had a Large Assembly For Several days 49 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. IV, p.19 et seq. 50 Ibid., Vol. IV, PP• 36-37. 72 Some made a Profession of Religion at the Meeting--! had an appointment Made For Him on the Colette Creek at the House of Mr. John Pettus a Friend of Mind--Who had Lately settled on that Creek The appointment was on Saturday and He was to Preach in Clinton on the Sab­bath--••• There was a Large Congregation assembled-­The Preacher said He would weigh Everybody Present--as his Text was--11 Thou art Weighed in a Balance and Found Wanting" He made an Excellent sermon--• • • After the Sermon was over and the Dinner also--Mr. Pettus said to me--The Preached Weighed me But you told him about it-­I asked him why he Said I had told the Preacher anything about him I had told him nothing--51 A Few Weeks after the Rev. Daniel Baker held his Pro­tracted Meeting Near my House at Cruneron--I wrote to Rev. Dr. Blair to Come up and organize a Presbyterian Church as there were a Few Members of that Denomina­tion in the Neighborhood He sent up an appointment and We met at the House of Doctor Peebles whose Wife was a Member--and Three more of their Neighbors And as the Doctors House was the Largest one in the Neighborhood-­The Meeting was Held there--We had Seven Members viz-­Mrs. Doctor Peebles, Mr. Miles S Bennett and wife also his Daughter I believe (no) myself and wife and my Daughter Elizabeth H. Calhoun--Mr. Miles S Bennett & Myself were Elected and Mr Bennett was ordained Rul­ ing Elders in Said Church--Mrs Peebles made a Motion that the Church Should be called or named "Live Oak Church" and It was so Called--This was the First Pres­byterian Church of the Old School Presbyterians in Dewitt County--52 The Rev. Mr. Wallis who was once a Cumberland Preacher Came to Texas and Purchased Land above Concrete--and Expected to Have a Cumberland Presbyterian under his Ministry at Concrete--But after His Return to Alabama and Tennessee He Attached himself to the Old School Presbyterians and came with his Family to the Land he purchased--And he Preached for us in Clinton a part of his Time after he had preached a while we Started a Prayer Meeting and Sabbath School--53 51 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. IV, pp.37-41. 52 Ibid., Vol. IV, p.58. 53­~., Vol. IV, P• 76. In the Fall of this year (1851) The Western Texas Pres­byterry Met in Clinton--we had no church Building or Court House of any Size in Clinton--We had had Seats Prepared for Preaching under Some very Large Live Oak Trees And Held Preabyterry In My House There was a Full Presbyterry of Preachers and Elders--There was Quite a Large Audience in the daily attendance--Sittingunder the Large Shady Live Oaks--I had a Tent made-­Sufficient to Hold 25 men under the Tent It was gen­erally Full after night on Saturday Nights when the Preaching was over and the Company Retired to the Tents for Sleep There were Four Preachers and Six Ruling Elders and about 10 or 12 more men In the tent-­ Before I moved to Clinton and afterward also--Whenever we were to Have Preaching (which was not often) I would Go Around Among the Saloons or Groceries and gambelers &c and say to them "Come Boys--we will have preaching in the Grove today--you nmst all Shut up your Groceries and Gambeling Shops and Come and Hear Preaching and they Generally took my advice and Done so--54 The Gonzales Inquirer cites several instances of the camp meetings which were held at this time. The issue for August 27, 1853, stated the following: 11 A camp meeting is now being held in the Sa.ndies in DeWitt County. It com­ menced yesterday and will continue for several days." Another press item ran like this: "The Camp Meeting which commenced on the Sandies, DeWitt County, last week closed its labors on Monday last. We learn that a large congre­ gation was in attendance and that about 15 persons were 55 converted to the Methodist faith. 11 54 Diary of Jame~s N. Smith, Vol. IV, pp80-82. 55 Gonzales Inquirer, September 3, 1853. There was quite a bit of circuit preaching even later than this time. Conditions were such that religion was much needed. Some of the hardships attendant on devotion­ al activities are revealed in letters written from various 56 pastors to Dr. William Carey Crane. S.S.Cross wrote in 1878: I have two days to rest. In the last two weeks I have rested but one night. Last Sunday I was at Con­crete. Preached twice in daytime and lectured at night. Too much for a sick man. I lectured four nights in Concrete. I have, as a general thing, very full houses. But these voluntary collections bring in but little money these hard times. Yet I feel I am doing a great good. In the main, I have been very very kind treated. Thia is one of the hardest places I have met in Texas. Catholics have their own way. Some 10 or 12 weak, no account Baptists. I go down to Victoria from here-­thence to three other places on this road--then across to Galveston where I will spend a few days and home to hear junior class exercises. Please think of something I can do in Independence next year. I must quit so much night work.57 F. Kiefer wrote from Concrete: I have been laboring at two stations between Victoria and Cuero and I have had some twenty conversions, but baptized but four. I will return after the Union 56 Dr. Crane was President of Baylor University when it was located at old Independence, Texas. 57 Crane's Letters, Cross to Crane from Cuero, May 10, 1878. meeting and hope to be able to organize a strong church at Thomaston Station.58 "The early settlers of Thomaston were church minded 59 people." The first school house was used also for church services. From time to time Presbyterian ministers passing this way preached for the people of the village. Among those who came during the 1870's were the Reverends J.M. Connelly, J.N.McCain, W.M.Kilpatrick, and P.H.Hensley. At times they were given souls for their hire. Miss Nell Murphree, a native of Thomaston comnrunity, sketched the history of the Thomaston Presbyterian Church. Some of the interesting facts she uncovered follow: On December 5, 1880 the Thomaston Presbyterian Church was organized with nine members. The elders were Messrs. J.D.Anderson and J.C.Murphree. The pastor was the Rev. William E. Caldwell, so well known and loved by the early members of the Cuero Church. We have been able to secure the names of only six of the nine char­ter members: Mr. & Mrs. J.D.Anderson and Mrs. Maggie Cottingham all later moved their membership to Cuero; Mrs. Virginia F. Saith was continuously a member until her death in 1904; Mr. J.O. Murphree, until his passing in 1923 (lacking one year of having been an elder dur­ing all the forty-four years of regular activity of the church); Mrs. J.O.Murphree, until her death March 31, 1939 (having been a member fifty-eight years, during all the years of the separate existence of the Thomaston Presbyterian Church). 58 Crane's Letters, Kiefer to Crane, March 3, 1878. 59 From a paper given by R.J.Adcock of Thomaston at the Methodist Service, April 21, 1940. After organizing, the little Presbyterian group con­tinued in the school house until 1886. The Gulf-West­ern Texas and Pacific Railroad gave two lots, desig­nated on the town map as lots one and two of block eleven. These lots were each 100 feet square, and the deed stated "to be used for church purposes and that only forever." On this land the Thomaston Presbyter­ian Church, a wooden structure costing $1200 was erected by contractor Berry. The trustees were Messrs. J.D• .Anderson, J.C. Murphree, and Inin Cottingham. The storm of August, 1886, blew the church from its blocks. It was not celled and having few inside supports it was badly damaged. The work of rebuilding and ceiling the church was done by Messrs. Berry, A.W.Eatman, and Irvin Cottingham, assisted by the Rev. McCurdy who had become the second pastor of the church in May, l886. Some money for financing the erecting and rebuilding was ob­tained by donations but largely it was paid for with the dimes and quarters taken in at numerous ice-cream fest­ivals where the good ladies took their rich, home-made custard and after much labor of ice-pounding, freezing, cream-dipping and serving on the part of men, women, and children, another pile of small coins was added to the church fUnd. It was remarked that probably one reason why the storm damaged the church was that it was built mostly of ice-cream. The small congregation was not able to have more than one preaching day a month, except for a short time the Rev. L.E.Selfridge held service on both the second and fourth Sundays. However, the church grew and shed its light abroad through the years and the leadership of a succession of able, self-sacrificing, Godly men--Rever­ends W.E.Caldwell, A.H.P.McCurdy, Hrumnond, Robert Hall, J.G.Cunningham, Josephus Johnson, the Victoria pastor who held services about a year, L.E.Selferidge, J.S. Kenninson, Harry Hamilton, who preached during the sum­mer of 1907 while he was a seminary student, James Drummond, W.L.Shepherd, A.L.Whitfield, J.A.Back, J.L. Green, and W.A.McCleod. From time to time a series of revi~al services were conducted by Reverend Josephus Johnson, A.H.McGurdy, W.M.Dogget, John Black Hudson, Brooks Dickey, L.E.Selfridge, and W.L.Shepherd. During this time numbers of ministers of other denominations also held revivals. For a time the Presbyterians worked in a Union SUn­day School. Along about 1890 they organized one of their own and kept it up until the summer of 1922. A historical sketch gotten out by the Presbytery in 1902 says that Thomaston church organized December 5, 1880, now has thirty-two members with Messrs. J.D.An­derson, W.J.McManus, J.O.Murphree, and L.K.CU.nningham as elders, and J.R.Wright and D.B. McManus deacons. Miss Fanny Pridgen, a Methodist, was probably the first organist and used to bring her own "baby organ" to play for the services. After a time a church organ was pur­chased. Then a Miss Inather Anderson, who later became Mrs. A.P.H.McCurdy, was a nruch loved and successful church musician for a number of years. During most of the 19901 s and early 1900's, both before and after her marriage, Mrs. Mattie Burrows, A Catholic, was organist and cheerfully and skillfully did her part to keep the various singers on the tone. Next Mrs. D.B.McManus, a Baptist, was chosen for this work and did it faithfully and well on many preaching days. Later efficient and punctual organists were Misses Minnie Edgar and Genevieve Wright. In the good old days Thomaston's people really went to church. On the first Sunday all were Baptists; on the third Sunday all were Methodists; in the earlier times on the fourth and later on the second Sunday all were Presbyterians. Believe it or not, at times there were as many as a hundred worshipers at a regular service. The Andersons, Kyles, and Carpenters usually brought their dinners; oftentimes those who lived nearer did the same. At the noon hour there was much eating of the good things prepared on Saturday. Mr. Irvin Anderson says there was where he ate many a piece of thick cus­ tard pie. After the lunch hour there was time for fel­ low-shipping with the pastor and each other before the three o'clock afternoon service which took place of a night service in those horse and buggy days. As nearly as we can estimate there have been eighty­ three members of the Thomaston Presbyterian Church. Family names besides those otherwise mentioned were Bates, Caldwell, Coleman, Eatman, Ferber, Ferguson, Le Galley, McDonald, McMaster, Milligan, Neal, Onder­ donk, Rabel, Reed, Shanks, and Williamson. The last meeting was held April 13, 1924, with the Rev. W.A.McLeod officiating. On July 18, 1939, a merger meeting took place, and there has been no Presbyterian Church in Thomaston since.60 The storm of August 30, 1942, blew the Methodist Church to the ground. It is not possible to rebuild at present, so the lumber was sold and put to good use elsewhere, and Thomaston now has no church building nor services except for a colored Baptist Church. In 1850 ten German settlers built the Meyersville Lutheran Church of logs; it was 12 feet by 20 feet, with two doors, one window, and one shutter on the west end. In 1866 the community replaced this church with the county's first rock church, which is still standing. Early Religious Development in~ Yorktown Comnru.nity. Church services were held in Yorktown earlier than the year 1857 by the Reverend Korte, a Methodist preacher. From 1851 to 1853, the Rev. Haerdtle attempted to form the first Lutheran congregation, but was not successful. Up to the year 1861 the Rev. A. Saager, the Evangelical Lutheran pastor from the Five Mile Coleto, preached in Yorktown once a month. On August 16, 1861, the Rev. A. Holzinger, a traveling evan­gelist of the Texas Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, 60 Miss Murphree obtained her information from the memo­ries of the members who are merging today, from early mem­bers who have moved away, from interested friends of the church, and from papers and records that Dr. W.A.McLeod of the Presbyterian Church searched out of hidden corners. 79 came to preach and administer the Lord's Supper for four­teen days. Due to illness, he was forced to stay longer, and during this time he prepared several girls for confir­mation. His work aroused a desire in the people of York­town to have regular worship. The Rev Holzinger was asked to remain as minister, which he promised to do, but shortly afterward he was called to take over another congregation. Then under the leadership of L. Schumacher, some of the members undertook to organize the congregation, and the Rev. Holzinger was recalled as pastor. At this time the Civil War broke out, and many of this congregation who served were killed in action. It was impossible for the small congrega­tion to raise the pastor's salary, so in 1865 it was neces­sary for the Rev. Holzinger to leave Yorktown. The Yorktown Church then returned to its original condition as a mission church with Pastor Schaef of Meyersville as its visiting minister. After Schaef's death, there being no regular min­ister, the Rev. Holzinger was called to Meyersville, and thus he resumed his work in Yorktown with the assistance of Rev. Pfenninger. After the Rev. Holzinger's death, the duties were discharged by the Rev. Oehler, who was also of the Meyersville congregation. Due to the lack of regular services, interest began to diminish. In 1872 at Easter, Rev. Oehler was forced to tell the congregation that if more interest could not be manifested, he would be unable to make the long trip from Meyersville to preach. In 1872 a new attempt was made to form a congregation, but the movement encountered much opposition from a certain element in the community. Not becoming discouraged, C.W.Nau, A.Sauermilch, M. Thiele, c.c.stephan, and c. Dahlmann carried out their undertaking to create a deeper church interest among the people of Yorktown. Fifty members signed the articles of agreement; land for the site of the church was donated by Mrs. Caroline Reille and c.w. Nau; and a church, which was 60 feet long and 30 feet wide, with a balcony and bell, was erected at a cost of $5,300. The sum of 50¢ per member each month was pledged to pay this debt. Because of the interest on this loan exhausting all the funds, it was im­possible for the debt to be reduced. An added expense was that of building a parsonage. Mr. and Mrs. C.W.Nau and Mrs. Johanna Reidle donated fifteen acres of land for a church lawn and eleven acres for a cemetery. The church was con­secrated on October 13, 1872, by the Rev. Oehler, Rev. Freh­ner, and the Rev. Letterman, the latter having been called to the pastorate in 1872. The first six church councilmen were: C.W.Nau, Andreas Sauermilch, c. Dahlmann, Heinrich, Alex F. Wieland, and Michael Range. In 1873 the congrega­tion joined the Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Texas. The German settlers were soon joined by Polish families. The Polish colony in Yorktown had its parish organization between 1860 and 1865, as the earlier colony was established at Meyersville and was attended as a mis­ sion by the Fathers of Panna Maria (San Antonio Diocese). Soon after the Poles arrived, Upper Meyersville was settled by the Germans. The first church of the Polish settlers was a small shack. As the congregation was never large, due to the outnumbering German population, the Polish Church of St. Peter did not have a residential priest. Through the efforts of one Father Gerlach, a German, the Poles were priviledged to enjoy the teachings of their own people. A Polish Sister taught Polish in the parochial school. Strangely, the people were not forced to send their children to schools where the mother tongue was taught. In 1905, the Polish colony of Meyersville consisted of about sixty families. Because of the appointment of pastors of their own ancestry, these people drifted to York­town. Under the direction of the Resurrectionist Fathers of Panna Maria, the first church of Yorktown, the building of which was begun in 1867, was completed the following year. In June, 1868, Yorktown received its first f'ull time pastor, Reverend Frydrychowicz. He was followed by Fathers Bakanow­ski, Zwiardowski, Snigurske, Kubutowicz, Barzynski, Smelcer, Heinke, Gerlach, and Hagel. When Father Moczygemba arrived in Yorktown in 1897, he found a congregation of one hun­dred Polish families, thirty five Bohemians, and a few Germans. The majority of the German people were Luther­an. In the course of its seventy years of existence, the Yorktown parish has grown. With the addition from Meyers­ville, it now boasts of 250 families. Only nineteen names 61 on the parish report are non-Polish. Yorktown. The first definite plan to establish a town resulted in the founding of Yorktown, De Witt County's oldest incorporated town. It was founded by Charles Eck­hardt and John York, (see note), and named in honor of the latter, who was owner of the Alexander Pendaris head-right in De Witt County. York was famous as an Indian fighter, and was in command of a company of citizens, who, under Ben Milam, defeated General Cos and 1,500 Mexicans in 1835 at the Battle of Bexar. {Plate 8.) At this time New Braunfels, San Antonio, and Fred­ericksburg had been founded. Transportation of goods was dependent on ox wagons, and the route was a circuitous one. Charles Eckhardt, a prosperous German immigrant at Indian­ 61 Dworaczyk: The First Polish Colonies of America in Texas, PP• 118-126.~­Note: Appendix I gives a brief sketch of John York's life. Plate 8 John York's tomb near Yorktown ola, was anxious to have a more direct route between that town and San Antonio, so in 1848 he and York founded the town. In April, 1848, York entered into certain Articles of Agreement with Eckhardt, John Mueller, Theo Mueller, and C.D.Schultz, under which agreement York conveyed a half interest in his league of land for $1 cash, while Eck­hardt and his associated agreed to lay out the league into a town with building lots, blocks, and acre lots, and were to bear the expenses of surveying, mapping, recording, and 62 advertising. On July 24, 1848, Eckhardt and his asso­ciates wrote to York from New Braunfels that they were sending him a copy of the town plot and that Eckhardt had fUll power of attorney to bring the transaction to a close. Among the many German settlers who came to Yorktown, prominent mention must be given the Klebergs and the Eck­hardts, who were influential in developing the community. In 1848 Peter Metz and John Frank built the first house in the settlement for Charles Eckhardt. It was built of logs and was 12 by 20 feet; and it had a back room and a chimney. This house was later occupied by a brother, Caesar Eckhardt, who settled with his family in Yorktown in 1849. Robert Eckhardt, a son of Caesar Eckhardt, was born in Germany in 1836, and immigrated to Texas when he was thirteen. He 62 Biesele: The History of the German Settlements, 1831-1861, P• 59.­ married Judge Robert Justus Kleberg's daughter, Caroline. He was first mayor of Yorktown and was active in other or­ganizations. William Eckhardt, another son of Caesar, joined the De Witt Rifles, the firat company of volunteers 63 raised in De Witt County during the Civil war. Judge Robert J. Kleberg and his family came over from Germany in 1835 and moved to De Witt County in the fall of 1847. When the time came for Texas to struggle for her in­dependence, Kleberg was among those willing to give their lives for Texas. (Plate 9.) In 1853 he was elected Chief Justice of De Witt County and was oonnnissioned by Governor Bell. He was re-elected Chief Justice in 1854. When the war broke out, he became a strong Confederate, and raised a company of militia; but, on account of his advanced age, he was not accepted for active service. Instead he was connnissioned as collector of war taxes. Judge Kleberg died in Yorktown in 1888, and he is buried on the Eckhardt ranch. (Plates 10 & 11.) Of the 120 persons whose names appeared on the census rolls for 1860, there are 97 German names. There were only two American families--John Rutledge and Berry Wright. An advertisement appearing in the San Antonio Ledger was pertinent to the significant movement of German im­ 63 Brown: Indian~ and Pioneers of Texas, p. 338. Plate 9 This State of Texas Marker in memory of Robert J. Kleberg is located on the old Kleberg family homestead about nine miles east of Yorktown. It was erected in 1936 by the Texas Centenial Commission. Miss Lulu Kleberg, only survivor of the pioneer family is standing by the marker. Plate 10 The Kleberg family memorial which is on the grave of Robert Justus Kleberg in the Kleberg-Eckhardt cemetery three miles west of Yorktown. Plate 11 migrants into the county at this time. The advertisement, which was run under the auspices of H. Runge and Company, Wholesale Grocers and Commission Merchants, stated: Persons in this state having friends or relatives in Germany whom they wish to assist in emigrating to Texas, can be accomodated with through tickets by addressing our firm at Indianola.64 Other pioneers in the Yorktown community were R.W. Gohmert, Mrs. Elizabeth Stuermer, Andreas Strieber, Peter Metz, c.s. Hartman, Franz Hoppe, Henry Menn--who was born in East Prussia, Germany, and arrived one year after the founding of Yorktown--Fred Sauermilch, Captain and Mrs. Rudd, Ed Fechner, Fritz Zedler, Mrs. Hulda Rath--who was born in Meyersville in 1849--Mr'• and Mrs. August Riedel, the Von Raders, and James R. Bell--the son of a San Jacin­to hero and grandson of Captain John York. Bell was born near Meyersville. As hundreds of acres were added from time to time, the Bell ranch came to comprise one of the 65 largest in the county. There were four saloons with dance halls in Yorktown during its early days--run by Louis Lenz, Fritz Riedel, Hoppe and Duerr, and Reisig. Heisig1 s in the upper town and Lenz•s in the lower town had theatre stages. There 64 San Antonio Led.ger, September 3, 1853. 65­Biesle: The History of the German Settlements, 1831-1861, pp.1-S.--­ were two general stores, c. Eckhardt and Sons, and Barthold and Gohmert; two butcher shops, owned by Jacob Grun, and Noster and Kraatz; one tannery, Gohmert•s; two saddle shops, belonging to Anton Metz and Louis Grun; one drug store, c. Nau and Co.; one brass band, led by Moritz Rie­del; one doctor, Doctor Schultz; one tailor shop, run by Schneider Zuch; two wagon and buggy factories, Zedler and Zuch, and Gips and Heinze Co.; and one cotton gin, owned by Joe and Gus Riedel. Interests of De Witt County, There being no immediate source of wealth in De Witt County, the people are, in gen­eral, easy going, happy, and friendly. Even in the farming and rural sections there is a certain glow of contentment radiating from the faces of the county's many inhabitants. In order to get some idea of the richness and commer­cial activities of this 879 square mile area, one nmst know something of the occupations and natural resources of De Witt County. Situated in the Central Coastal Plain of South Texas, fifty miles inland from the Gulf, De Witt Coun­ty has an unlimited diversit-y of sights and scenes which are pleasing to the eye. There are prairies and hills, Valleys and river bottoms, timbered and cultivated land, all for the most part fertile, arable, and well-drained. There is a variety of soil: black waxy, clay, loam, and sandy; and the richest of these are found along the streams. The Guadalupe River--one of the most picturesque streams in all Texas--flows from north to south through the county. 'I'he territory is nearly half timbered. Among the trees are: the cottonwood, bur oak, post oak, llve oak, mesquite, ash, hackberry, walnut, hickory, elm, and pecan. The surface of the county is well supplied with water, and shallow wells with an inexhaustable supply of good water can be secured almost anywhere. Artesian wells from 600 to 1,000 feet deep produce abundant flows. Fuller's earth and commercial clay are found. Sand and gravel for building use are available in many places. Some oil and gas is produced. Statistics prove that the oil industry in this section is still in its infancy. Truck farming is claiming much attention. Onions, cab­bages, and tomatoes are shipped in considerable quantities. Cotton and corn are the principal crops; and these are grown extensively. The crop land harvested in 1936 amounted to 153,307 acres. Being a leader in cattle, dairy, and poultry products the county has attained prominence in these lines. Great interest is shown in ranching and stock breeding, the total livestock value being $3,611,628. The last census report gives the population of De Witt County as 24,935, the population per square mile being 28.3. There are 72.61 miles of railroads; the San Antonio and Aran­sas Pass, and the Galveston, Harrisburg, and San Antonio traverse the county. Cuero, the County Seat, is the center of the Guadalupe Valley dairy and poultry section. It has a creamery, sev­eral poultry-dressing plants, and a cotton and textile mill. It is celebrated throughout the whole country as the home of the "Turkey Trot". Cuero is also an important pecan shell­ing center. Yorktown ships poultry and dairy products. It has grist mills, cotton gins, a chicken hatchery, a creamery, and a turkey dressing plant. Yoakum, which holds the Tomato Tom-Tom festival each year, is located e.t the northeast edge of the county, half' of it lying in Lavaca County. It has several poultry­dressing plants, two monument plants, the largest tannery in the South, and a Swift and Company plant which employs many men and girls. Albert Roth of Yoakum introduced the 66 Roth pecan, which runs 51 nuts per pound and 58% kernel. 66 For f'urther information see the Texas Almanac for 1941-1942. The following tables assure the reader of the wealth and resources of De Witt County: Table I U.S. Census of Agriculture for 1940 (Farms, acreage, value, by color of operator, tenure and farm land ac­ cording to use) Farms and Operators Number of farms 3,301 White operators 3,024 Colored operators 277 Farms operated by tenure Full owners 1,215 Part owners 249 Managers 11 Tenants 1,549 Croppers 462 Farm Acreage, Value, and Land Area Approximate land area in 1940 582,400 Proportions in farms; per cent 89.0 Average size of farms 157.0 All lands in farms 518,217 Value of farms (land and buildings $14,239,358 Average value of land and buildings 4,021 Farms of 30 acres and over 4,900 Land and buildings per acre 27.48 Value of implements and machinery 2,874 Farm land according to use Farms Reporting Acres Crop land harvested 2,827 135,178 Crop land idle or fallow 790 14,815 Plowable pasture 1,430 80,572 Woodland pasture 1,006 50,842 Crop failure 99 1,302 All other land in farms 2,837 136,480 Specified Classes of Livestock on Farms and Ranches Horses and colts 1940 4,839 Colts 407 Mules 5,580 Mule colts 142 Cows milked 1939 10,376 Cattle and calves 1940 51,190 Milk produced 1939 3,091,433 gals. Butter churned 1939 183,763 lbs. Hogs and pigs 1940 8,927 Sheep and lambs 1940 8,556 Wool shorn 1939 58,168 lbs. Specified Poultry on Hand, Chickens, Eggs, Bees Chickens over 4 mo. old April 1, 1940, 263,857 Turkeys 28,073 Thlcks 274 Geese 172 Guineas 986 Chicken eggs 2,081,740 doz. Hives 41 Honey produced 7,979 lbs. Table II Acreage and Production of Hay Crops and Miscellaneous Crops Harvested 1939 All hay exclusive of sorghum Farms reporting 242 Annual legumes All other tame saved for hay hay acres 1,129 II II ti II tons 73 -124 1,301 Sweet potatoes and yams Farms reporting Acres Bushels 195 137 5,338 Irish potatoes Farms reporting 798 Acres 280 Bushels 9,458 Cotton Farms reporting 1,975 Acres 46,142 Bales 8,225 Sugar cane for all purposes (1934) Farms reporting 3 Acres 3 Tons 3 Pop corn (1939) Farms reporting 12 Acres 11 Bushels 128 Table III Amount of Property in De Witt County for 1941 State Comptroller's Report Land Acres Value Town and City Lots Value Horses and mules Number Value Cattle Value Sheep Number Value Goats Number Value Hogs Number Value Vehicles Number Value Goods and merchandise Value Manufacturing tools and implements Value Steam engines and boilers Value Railroad Miles Value Rolling stock Intangible assets Miscellaneous property value Telegraph and telephone line s Pipe lines-miles Value Average value of land Rate of county tax All other properties of companies and associations Total value State Tax State revenue polls State school polls Total state tax 567,660.60 $6,897,570 $2,907,510 8,250 $196,586 $365,255 5,979 $12,075 475 $485 4,158 $9' 570 5,515 $397,250 $372,000 $265 940 .. ' $85,172 70.15 $437,525 $106,440 $44,050 $85,027 $70, 940 12.17 $23,440 11.83 .55 ~p235, 555 ~!)13, 131,870 $ 51, '173 .15 $3, 567 $7,134 $62,474.15 92 Table IV Report of the Comptroller of all outstanding indebtedness of towns and conditions of sinking fund for the year ending June 30, 1941 as shown by the Treasurers Report Condition of Interest Outstanding Indebtedness Cash Securities School Bonds Bonds Warrants Cuero $13,049.90 4,500.00 ---------$ 427,700 $13,000 Nordheim $566.90 -------­ ---------26,000 ------- Yoakum $19,738.08 24,000 133,000 483,000 ------­Yorktown $4,632.34 ------------------108,000 ------­ Cash Indebtedness County and Road Dist. $39,532.75 $730,473.71 Common School Dist. 7,488.25 25,425.00 Table V Composition of the population by counties De Witt County Subject: Total population 24,935 Male 12,449 Female 12,486 Native (all races) 23,793 Male 11,809 Female 11,984 Foreign born (all races) 1,142 Male 640 Female 502 White 21,122 Native 19,980 Foreign born 1,142 Negro 3,813 Other races Percent native white 80.l Percent foreign-born white 4.6 Percent negro 15.3 1930: Total population Native white 27,44120,715 Foreign-born white 2,334 Negro 4,392 Other races Percent native white 75.5 Percent foreign-born white 8.5 Percent negro 16.0 Persons of voting age: 1940 Male, 21 years old and over 7,271 Native (all races) 6,640 Foreign-born (Naturalized} (all races) 374 Foreign-born (Alien) (all races} 205 Foreign-born, citizenship not reported 52 Foreign-born white male 21 and over 631 Naturalized Alien-first papers Alien-no papers Citizenship not reported Female, 21 and over Native(all races) Foreign-born (Naturalized) (all races) Foreign-born (Alien) (all races) Foreign-born-Citizenship not reported Foreign-born white female 21 and over Naturalized Alien-first papers Alien-no papers Citizenship not reported Subject: School Attendance Persons 5 and 6 years old Number attending school Percent attending school Persons 7 to 13 years old Number attending school Percent attending school Persons 14 and 15 years old Number attending school Percent attending school Persons 16 and 17 years old Number attending school Percent attending school Persons 18 to 20 years old Number attending school Percent attending school Persons 21 to 24 years old Number attending school Percent attending school Years of School Completed Male 25 years old and over No. school years completed Grade school: 1 to 4 years 5 or 6 years 7 or 8 years High school: 1 to 3 years 4 years College: 1 to 3 years 4 years Not reported Female, 25 years old and over 374 21 184 52 7,458 6,964 303 144 47 494 303 9 135 47 De Witt County 982 123 12.5 3,501 2,848 81.3 1,059 781 73.7 986 448 44.5 1,415 188 13.3 1,555 40 2.6 6,519 602 1,656 1,291 1,386 817 307 239 160 6,655 No. school years completed 556 Grade school: 1 to 4 years 1,448 5 or 6 years 1,363 7 or 8 years 1,430 High school: 1 to 3 years 931 4 years 407 College: 1 to 3 years 330 4 years 132 Not reported 58 Median school years completed 6.9 Male, 25 years old and over Median school years completed 6.5 Taken from Population (16th census of the United States) Second series, Texas-­ CHAPTER III EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENTS UP TO 1866 First Educational Developments in De Witt's Colony. As early as 1829 there was dissatisfaction in the minds of the people in De Witt's colony concerning education, and this agitation was kept constantly before the public. As the classes of people comprising the pioneers were varied, so were their ideas as to the value of culture. Many of the settlers engaged transient scholars to teach their child­ren in the rude log cabins which they built. Sometimes rel­atives taught the children to read and write. Other fami­lies were indifferent to the matter, caring nothing for know­ledge; and their children were put to work in the fields at 1 an early age. The first decree of any note from the Governor of Coa­huila and Texas in regard to schools was issued the same year as De Witt's grant, and it stated specifically that in 2 each new town one block should be set aside for a school. Moreover by the terms of De Witt's contract in accordance with the order promulgated, the empresario must establish 1 Eby: The Development of Education in Texas, p. 75. 2 Saltillo Archives, Vol. XVI, 1825, P• 217. 95 3 schools to give instruction in the Spanish language. These efforts to establish schools :must have suffered failure as there seems to be little available information with reference to the success of such enterprises. How­ ever, the need for education was felt by many parents.This desire of parents for the educational and moral improvement of their children was set forth as early as 1829 in the fol­ lowing editorial in the Texas Gazette: Of the importance of this subject, parents appear al ­ready mindful, and it is highly creditable to the enter­prise and good feelings of many of our citizens to say that they have already exerted themselves for the benefit of the rising generation to the very extent of their abilities. They have manifested a determination that their children should not grow up to enter the world with minds beclouded with ignorance and understandings per­verted by error. But :much property has hitherto been expended for learning which has been of no avail, and what is of a far greater consequence, the precious time of the children has, in circumstances, been worse than lost for the want of some regular and established plan in the system of education; schools have often been commenced in different parts of the colony under the most inauspicious circumstances, and with but little prospect of success. Teachers have not received the compensation for their services which would justify them in devoting to the interest of the school their constant and undivided attention; no sooner has some more pleasing and lucrative employment offered, than they have been discontinued. Before any real and permanent benefit could be derived from them; leaving parents, in most cases, with but one alternative, either to take their children from school 3 De Witt's Contract, Chapter 1, page 5, term 4. 97 or to employ those teachers whose character and liter­ary qualifications they nrust have been entirely ignorant. And if they even succeeded in obtaining these much time is requisite, and to learn the dispositions and capacities of his scholars without which he can never be expected to be of any great benefit to them. The necessity and importance of a regular permanent sys­tem of education is acknowledged by every enlightened man all over the world, and such a system can with pro­priety, and ought to be established in this colony.~ That there were schools conducted in English within the confines of Texas is certain because the following persons are recorded as teaching schools from 1823: Isaac M. Pennington, 1823, somewhere in Austin's colony. Josiah Wilbarger, 1828, Matagorda. D.B. Edwards, 1830, Seminary at Gonzales.5 The earliest available recorded information concerning schools in De Witt's colony dates back to 1830, when the Texas Gazette ran an advertisement for the Gonzales Seminary. (Plate 12 shows the form of such an advertisement. The reader will get a more readable text by referring to Appendix J.) From the Minutes of the Ayuntamiento at Gonzales, it is evident that there was in existence some sort of school other than the seminary mentioned above, at this time. The ayu.ntam­iento passed the following resolutions on May 28, 1833: That John F. Buchetti be employed by the Ayuntamiento instead of John R. Bedf'ord, deed., as translator and Secretary and to teach a Spanish school for the term of six months commencing the 1st of June present and 4Texas Gazette, November 7, 1829. 5 Eby: ~Development of Education in Texas, p. 76. rt·hl·dl),a 11. ·I,· 1routlu.1.,'loc'.. vi 1'1l1H)llt.., II' ll 1•11!, )O'lth, riot fllt)J 111 t.ur f • l JI, Jf l l I \­ UH fll tt"--Tt.•· tt .1d.... r I cI j ,.r ... '· t. 11•.1t be ha m ;11t1r• du ' t. 11; • 1' 11 !.1rh alfor I· grr II fa.:if1ty tu 11 , < 1ot"cially wbrt. l.owar.I• tlu• la)IOC a·I I'•" • O• dahoD wliicli ii "' Utt(·-·> lo ti I a a I • ol lllhric, thal 1houlJ be •• tlLt.,...;, a 1 11 • d~to be ir;rau•I anot nol!w. 'I r a· •. phne o( tlar Luol will l>r uri rt l _1 1 r ua•1011, pririrrpally 111ikl a0 • il . ­ Ult\'\ 'HF I.: l'Ut\i' Orthol(T.1rhy, Ortl.oer~·, R1.J n "! ••:. ;11 « montl,, 1lo1I trade. \Vntib ",C'NUf)4hlhon. ""'' -~I (r.i,h1•1 $1 hi) oeo lrnlfra h, on hall tr '· Ariti.-tk, f'I0<'11l1un, and ~r.1n11u r. : I ..J one tlu1J c •h, h•o ti.an!· tra !o. Alt!OMmy, -1.ni ao1I 111,r..-r•t .• ''·'~t I~, ft, -llalf C3oh, Oht f, Ill Ir.I 'a. C"'-'isJ, a-rat anal r•·•rt•< 111 ar I a•t"", SI 50, two third ca I.'''" II tr I tr''• rtbk-U, Utllral aoJ lllOral f l•ll""" lo~, ':J• Udlet f,.-ttl'f' , rt .. toric, And 1•••,,.. : l. It will br '"'I I thJt 1!.a• 1n1•111• "I ,:-uardian• or au, ru11nc I up:l , ,, ill • nu I • lhn. wilh n·n1 f"f111ipn1t'f1t t1r<'t "1 'l r aavrortin thouil\tbot rl "''"'" 1•, .. -1 dn1f\' tlo 111 to bt• in tru tr J, n II• In· tot' will uol be aMwttable r. t 11.. ir 1 r ·~" bo att nn pro' 1·ft t!; nor (or lho~ "h·• 11 o"t puorl11>l 1 th<'ir att "'''"'" •. I ll1 w'• inr , .. , ..,.,from ato I • momi ~-""I Ir Ill! toGo•rlor.k, ft...-. ·' ttint•t!o ta l· .,.f, \\ ritc-n id 111 l;..i :II , : •· rt lt' co1•i• 'ur ..,. t,. Or h"" Cl•' I\I• n• rn lno11t.,.-nt rcum.Jtallf'r ~ n1A} r 1 nr hution ratuit.,..I,. Th•~ • 111 it , "t froa th nl , an. r.... !'1 l-.ir, IAll Pri~·Iii~ ,ff9lnr11, .11rs·.. h. O.,t 9 .20 W.G.Wright 90.60 B.F.Stell 29.90 Black 29.92 S.C.Walker 42.70 s. Shluter 4.70 L.P.Whiting 13.52 T.M.McLeod 29.63 T. Kilgore 56.00 Balance 306.17 It is further ordered by the Court that the following sums be paid out of the school fund to: L.G.Davis $ 9.52i H.O.Barters 24.60 Otto Fon 27.40 II II 1'7.30 M.M. Martin 2.12~ Wm. T. Glup 92.70 H.O.Barters 33.30 M.C. Shook 5.80 W.G.Wright 18.40 H.T.Wright 32.60 James Donnel 5.85 M.C. Wallow 3.87~ T.M.Potts 15.07 Balance 289.54 And that drafts issued for the same and that the re­mainders of money due for indigent scholars for the year ending 31st August 1861 be postponed for further payment. It is further ordered by the Court that notice be given that indigent scholars taught for the scholastic year to 31st August 1862 will not be paid. Only one school was credited to the county for each year from 1854 to 1860. In 1861 there were thirteen and the next year fifteen, according to the County Records. February, 1862 $107.15 March, 1862, the following sums were paid to the follow­ing persons: James McLeod $ 8.10 114 A.B.Williams $ 73.78 L.G.Davis 15.14 H.O. Bartlett 44.25 59.60 Otto Fox 49.32 31.14 M. Martin 3.'72 William Glup 166.16 W.C.Shook 10.44 W.G. Wright 29.52 58.65 James Donnell 12.33 M. McWalla.ce 6.9'7 William Potts 27.12 Balance 30.40 September, 1863 The Court ordered from the Chief Justice to the Treasurer of the State to pay over to H. Heard County Treasurer of DeWitt County $179.40 the amount of school f'und in the State Treasurers according to Comptrollers letters. The School Fund Balance was $561.75. In the matter of School Commissioners passed February 4th, 1858 pertaining to the appointment of a board of school examiners for the examination of such persons who may wish to teach a public school in said County, the Court appointed L.L. Williams, W.R.Friend and w.c. Pleasants of the town of Clinton in said County and State to examine applicants and upon examination if an examiner shall find applicants properly qualified to discharge the duties of a teacher, examiners shall grant to him or her a certificate stating the branches he or she may be qualified to teach. And it is f'urther ordered and decreed by the Court that the Clerk of the County Court shall give a notice to all Teachers in the County who have commenced teaching since the 8th of February 1858 the same being the date of the passing of the Act that they must present themselves for examina­ tion to the School Commissioners or they will be unable to draw any of the School Fund of the County for the tuition of indigent or orphan children. July, 1865 It is ordered by the County Court of De­Witt County that the Treasurer of the State pay to H. Heard County Treasurer of said county on his order the sum of ~326.43 being the amount due from the State Treas­urer to said county under the apportionment of the "School Fund" for the year ending August 31st 1862 as per letter of advice of State Treasurer dated December 20th 1862. The Court made an order to assess and collect revenue for the county Treasurer the amount of School Fund at Austin frQm the Comptroller of state for the sum of $326.43. ~8 Table 1 Distribution of the Available General School Fund SchoolFund 1854-18&42'9 1854 $267.84 $109.81 1855 687.00 1856 632.04 1857 959 .53 1858 769.41 1859 857 .92 1860 804.00 1861 545.60 1862 326.43 1863 179.49 1864 1,193.16 First Schools in De_Witt Countx. James Norman Smith was the first school-teacher in De Witt County. His first school was conducted in a log building in the spring of 1840, near what is now the town of Concrete. Later Smith taught school in a log house on McCoy Creek in 1845. This was also near what is now Concrete and not far from his first school. Both of these schools were taught prior to 28 Minutes of the County Court, De Witt County, 1855­1865. 29 Based on the Treasurer's Reports, 1854-62,Book 6 Treasurers Reports 1862-1867, Book 2 and reports of Ex-of­ficio State Superintendent of Public Schools. 1846, for when De Witt County was organized in 1846 James N. Smith gave up teaching and became County Clerk, which he remained until 1865. The plaque placed to his memory in the Cuero Presbyterian Church states that James Norman Smith was the first school-teacher of De Witt County; the same statement is on the monument which was erected just south of Cuero in 1936, in memory of the De Witt County pioneers. Smith and his family, on coming from Tennessee to Tex­as in 1840, first landed in Galveston, and then continued by boat to Lynville. A few days after his arrival, Smith hired a Spanish pony to ride to Cuero Creek to see Mr. Blair about moving. He reached Victoria the next day, after traveling across the prairie most of the way. He stopped at a hotel and found the owner to be an old acquaintance from Tennessee, Mr. A. James, whose children had attended Smith's school in Tipton County, Tennessee. The following passages from Smith's personal memoirs establish the foregoing facts on the first schools in De Witt County: The next Morning I started up to Gonzales County On the way I met a Waggon and I Enquired of the Gentleman who was Driving the Waggon--If he knew a Mr Blair on Cuero Creek--He said he Lived with him--And that He was going to Lynville to Move a Family up to Mr. Blairs-­by the Name of Smith--! told him I was the Man--and was going up to see about it--The Man Driving the Waggon was by the Name of B Craig--I then went down with Him to the Bay--We spent the Night at Victoria where I made more acquaintances--We went on Next day--And soon got Ready to Move up to Gonzales County--We found Mr Blair to be a very pleasant Man--and settled in the House he prepared for us--about 30 yards from His own House--I then prepared for a school--and made up about Thirty Scholars--Tuition Two Dollars per Month--30 My School Consisted of a Mixt School of Young Men and Young Ladies and Boys and Girls--And as There was Sev­eral Young Men and La.dies Living in the Upper and Lower Settlement as it was then Called The Young People would assemble a.t Mr Blairs of Saturday Evenings to sing--and Learn Vocal Music as Mrs Smith Understood rrnl­sic Very Well and Mr Benjn Craig and a Mr Ballard from Lervacca River would often Corne over to sing as he Knew the Young People There--So that we Enjoyed the Saturday Evenings very well--Singing and Playing &c--After a While Doctor Duck Proposed to My Son, James and the 2 Young Scotchrnen--Tha.t They would Endeavor to Establish a Theatre--or acting of Plays &c. He composed some Very Good Pieces--and those who took part would prepare them­selves--and the singing Sometimes Give way to the Theatre •••Large Assemblies of Young People would attend--and be nru.ch Edified by the Performance--31 I had Six Boarders who went to School to Me. Namely-­Josiah Pipkin--Ruf'us and James Taylor--all young Men Nearly Grown and their Young Sister Jane Taylor Eleven or Twelve Years old Also a Little Creed Taylor a Nephew of the others--a son of Mr William Taylor They Brought Me a few Cows and Calves to help pay their Board--They Kept their Horses staked out on the grass and Rode Home every Friday Night--32 About this time, 1841, the Indians were causing trouble to the settlers in this part of the country. There were raids and battles in which men from Gonzales, Cuero, and 30 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. III, P• 148. 31 Ibid., Vol. III, P• 151. 32­Ibid., Vol. III, P• 154. Victoria joined to protect their families. After these skirmishes Smith's school did not flourish because the parents were afraid to send their children from home. His narrative continued: The next year I purchased 50 acres of Land with a House on it which by putting on a New Ruff, and Raising it a few Logs Higher made me a Cornf'ortable Little House with a Room up stairs--This was in another Neighborhood a­bout 5 miles from where I Taught school the year before --They Built a fine Large School House which also served for a Preaching House I had a good schoo1.33 My Son Tom Crutcher Smith was Born while I Taught School on Mill Creek 12th December 1843--I left my Little Home and Rented a House near Capt John York--About 2 miles or more from where I Taught--The Last Year as I got Rath­er a better school in this Neighborhood--Most all the scholars at the Former place still came to school at the York School House--We still kept up our Presbyterian Preaching and also the Methodist Preaching In January 1845 I Exchanged my 50 acres of Land on Mill Creek For a place on Cummings Creek Some 8 or 10 miles from where I Lived on Mill Creek--The place I got on Cummings Creek was a Fine little place And I expected to Commen2~ a School in that Neighborhood about lat of March-­ I Commensed my school and moved over to my Little Home of Fifty acres of Land--I had a very good school--My children and Grand Children also going to school In the First of the Month of November of this year 1845-­I started to go Back to the Guadalupe River--Sold out my place--Got a Cart and Yoke of Oxen in part pay--Hired a Wagon and Team to Help Move me--•••After Christmas I taught a School near where the town of Concrete is now Located.35 After Texas was admitted to the Union, and the County of De Witt was organized, an election was held, and, as we 33 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol.III, P• 193. 34 Ibid., Vol. IV, P• 4. 35­~., Vol. IV, P• 19. have already mentioned, Mr. Smith was elected Clerk of the County and Probate Court. He closed his school, which was about ten miles north of the County Seat, and employed a young man to cut a number of clapboards from his pecan tim­ ber. Then Smith and his grandson hauled these boards down to the County Seat, and built a Clerk's office, about eighteen 36 feet square. Smith's efforts in behalf of education did not cease, even though he was no longer teaching. His interest was ap­ parent by his desire to see good schools established in the Cuero settlement. He related the following story, which shows the vexatious type of person who often attempted to teach: I was anxious to see Good Schools Established in Clinton-­One Day as I was going up to Dinner From my Clerks office As I passed by the Gate of Doctor Williams I saw him and a Gentleman Sitting In the Porch And the Doctor Spoke to me and asked me to Call In and Chat a while--I went Into the Porch where they were Sitting --The Doctor Introduced me to the gentleman And told me He was agraduate From the University of North Carolina at Chappel Hill. That He was anxious to Teach a School in Clinton--I was pleased to Hear it--Told Him that there would be a good School Made up and If he done his duty as a Teacher and pleased the Employers He would Have to Employ an Under Teacher He said He Expected He would Give satisfaction He was Em­ployed to Commence on the following Monday Morning--He was to Board at Doctor Williams or at the Hotel He said He would prefer the Hotel as he did not wish to Board at Private Houses He commenced with about Thirty Scholars The next week had seven or Eight more He was in my of­fice on Saturday after He commenced And his School was Flourishing and Enquired of me about an assistant I Recommended one to Him I told Him it would all Depend 36 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. IV, P• 22. on his Future Conduct If he was of Steady Habits and Kept up a Good Moral Character--That He would in a Short time have 60 or 70 scholars For the People were anxious to Have such a Teacher as he was--a grad­uate &c He said He knew the duties of a Teacher And he was the man to please them--He gave his Students (That is the Boys &c) strict orders to Keep out of Saloons or as we called groceries--And never to go where there was Card Playing--on the next Monday he had Four more new Scholars--on the Saturday night be­fore a youth who was going to school--a son of Mr Brownso a merchant--And whose Brother Slept in the Store House of Nights My Little Youth went to Sleep with his Brother--and when He got to the store It was Locked up He went by a place where they were gamb­ling--Thought his Brother might be in the Grocery--They were gambling in the Back Room and he went In--But his Brother was not there--He did not visit such places-­He Saw the Teacher at the Card Table playing Cards He told his Father about it. The Teacher was Drunk the next Sabbath but sober at School on Monday--He had the Little Son of Mr Brownsons up For being in the Back Room of the grocery with gamblers--and was about to chastise the Little Boy--He Ran to his Fathers Store and told Him The Teacher had acted Improperly at the Hotel on Sunday--a.nd Mr Brownson would not suffer his son to be whipt--Doctor Williams Mr Brownson and the Hotel Keeper and Some others who were sending to school went to the School House on Tuesday and gave the Young Man a Dissmission From the School--37 Perhaps one of the earlier schools at this time was the one James Smith refers to in the following excerpt: A Short time before Capt York was Killed He promised my Daughter Mrs Calhoun that He would Give her 160 acres of Land on the Waters of Deer Creek and she was to Teach a School and he wished his Daughters to Go to her--The School House was Built and She Commensed the School and Boarded with Judge Young's Family who sent his Daughters also.38 Only one other very early school existed at this time in the Cuero settlement. It was conducted by the Rev. Con­ 37 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. IV, P• 87. 38 ~., Vol. IV, p. 41. 121 nelly. He had bought Mr.Williams' house, and moved to Clinton and started a school there. He also acted as as­ sistant in the Sabbath School. The first school within the bounds of the Thomaston Dis­ trict, which is now district number 37, was in a log house on the Lockhart land, now owned by Mrs. John Pridgen. The teacher was a Mr. Moore from Missouri. Oscar and Willie Pridgen and Alex and James Owen Murphree attended this school, and some students came across the Power Ford from Mission Valley. A later log house was near the Buck Mccrabb home. The teacher was Miss Sallie Sangster, and afterward, a Mr. 39 Baggett. An early De Witt County school is described by Mr. Al­ bert Meyer of Weesatch, in this paragraph: I attended school at Meyersville only three weeks. The school building was made of post-oak boards. The win­dows had shutters. The desks were just common benches with a board in front to hold our books. My teacher was Pastor Stricker who had to serve as a school teach­er during the week and preacher on Sunday at $40.00 a month. We used a slate and pencil to get our example. We had a blue backed spelling book and a reading book. Coconuts cut half in two were used for dippers to drink water. The students were not eager to learn and con­sidered school a bore. The teachers' punishment was very rough. I have often seen childr•en get a whipping until their backs would bleed and their shirt would stick to the back. Mothers would have to wet the back with water to remove the cloth.40 39 From a paper written about the Thomaston School Dis­trict for which Mr. J.C. Murphree volunteered the above facts. The approximate date for this school was 1849 or 1850. 40 Correspondence, January, 1942. In those days a slate and pencil were something pre­cious and had to be handled with care. If a slate was bro­ken, the pieces were carefully saved and transformed into pencils; the fragments of shattered pencils were put into goose quills and used again and again until they were en­tirely worn away. Composition books were manufactured at home by sewing together loose sheets of blue paper. In one school of this community there was but one reader, which was known as "dish-rag" and was used by all classes. Yet the lack of text-books was overcome in a great measure by the encyclopedic learning of the early German teachers, many of whom, being graduates of German Universities, were scholars 41 in the full sense of the word. A majority of the persons interviewed for this his­tory stated that they studied McGuffey•~ Reader at one time or another during their school days. William Holmes McGuf­fey was a university professor who prepared a series of readers which were used extensively throughout America. His readers shaped children's minds along American line s, and he was the first to fit the child's education to the child's own world. The first four books of the series were published 41 Mr. Louis Lenz, son of Charles Lenz, supplied the above facts concerning conditions in the school room. in 1836 and 1837; a Fifth Reader in 1844, and the Sixth Reader--the last one in the series--appeared ten years42 later. Early Schools in Yorktown. 11 There are no better American citizens than the Germans, who are loyal to democracy, for, next to labor, education is held by them in the highest es­ 43 44 teem. 11 The chronicle of Judge Rudolph Kleberg, Jr. in­rorms us that the need of a school was felt in Yorktown as early as 1855, when the first school house was built. It cost $324; and o. Fuchs became the first teacher. On A­pril 3, 1861, L. Schumacher opened his school, beginning with fourteen pupils under the most discouraging conditions. This school prospered in spite of the hardships of the Civ­il War, until in October, 1865, the roll of the school showed the round number of fifty scholars. On the third of April, 1886, the twenty-fifth anniversary of Mr. Schumacher as teacher in the schools of Yorktown was observed by his old pupils. The people honored him with a torch light pro­cession; and the mayor publicly thanked him. He continued teaching for two more years after this, even though he was 42 "McGuffey and His Readers", in Reader'~ Digest, April, 1942. 43 Rose, Some Historical Facts in Regard to the Settle­ment of Victoria County, P• 63. -44 Prepared by the Hon. Rudolph Kleberg in 1898, on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of York­ town. paralysis-stricken. In 1866 a new and larger school house, costing $535, was built. Some of the instructors were Professors Von Trenk, Rudolph Kleberg, and R.F. Kleberg; and later, Wil­liam T. Eicholz, who taught over ten years. Professor Eicholz later moved to Cuero where he published the Cuero Rundshau and conducted a German summer school. At one time he conducted a singing school in German also. Other teachers were Robert A. Pleasant , L. Tampke, Judge Kilger, and Professor Schmidt. Professor Eicholz was succeeded as principal by Professor A.B.Erb. Later Professor Erb became first assistant to Professor C. Mundt, who was succeeded by Professor Max B. Berstein. J.L. Baal followed Berstein. 45 About 1884 the Schulverein was organized; this was an incorporated society which controled the public schools of the city, and after the exhaustion of the public money, maintained a private school until the ten months session was completed. In March o~ that same year construction of the present school house was begun from plans drawn by William Eckhardt and L.A. Hohn. It was one of the first modern school buildings in this section, and certainly the first in the county. The faculty consisted of J.L.Ball, 45 School Club. Plate 14 The Eckhardt Home near Yorktown 125 46 principal, A.B.Erb, first assistant, Otto Schmidt, third assistant and instructor in German, and Miss Hedwig Nau, primary department. The construction work was superin­ tended by Mr. Hohn, and by September of the same year, the building was ready for use, having cost $2500--~;200 less than had been anticipated. A knowledge of the conditions of the early schools may best be acquired from the remarks made by early scholars. Miss Lulu Kleberg, born in 1855, is the daughter of Robert Justus Kleberg, who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. (See Plate 13.) Miss Kleberg made the following statement: In Mayersville I attended a little school. My father would always try to get up schools so his children could go to school. I went to Mr. Juch1 s school. He was lat­er a music teacher at Concrete College. All the schools were of the same character; some had no floors. Prof. Holzenger was a Lutheran Minister. He had a two-story building for his school. He had Bible classes in the early morning. The few Jewish children would not take part. We had wooden benches and tables. Judge Pleas­ant taught in Yorktown. Mr. Eicholz had a plain wooden building about thirty feet long and fifteen feet wide. Every pupil had a different book. We used the blue­backed speller. We had a German teacher at Meyersville and he would use any kind of German book. We studied both English and German. Prof. Schmidt taught Latin in German. Then I went to school to an American, a Mr. Boston who was a squire. He taught in the five mile dis­trict. These were the first schools I ever attended.47 Many Germans, who were among the earliest settlers, were highly educated, and they would not send their children to 46 Mr. Schmidt taught school for 27 years, and he was York­town's first constable. 47 Interview, June, 1939. 126 schools here because they thought them inferior. They wanted to send them to the universities. Mr. M.G. Eck­ hardt said: We had a private school right down here in this back yard. It was a one room building made of lumber, and four families came to this school. A Miss D.lerr taught, and when she quit, my eldest sister taught. One of my uncles liked to recite poetry. He would stretch out on a bench and recite aloud, no matter what was going on. Mr. Eicholz taught the normal. We called it the little public school. Discipline was strict. The girls sat on one side and the boys on the other. When the boys were bad they had to sit with the girls. There was one teacher that made the pupils strike out the word God whenever they came to it in the textbooks. The wood-pile was in one corner of the room to keep people from stealing wood. We used the blue-backed speller, McGuffey's Reader, and a history which was called the Definer. We came six or seven miles to school. Prof. Schumacher threw some boys out of school simply because they were Americans. German, reading, writing, arithmetic, and geography were taught, and much attention was paid to penmanship. Prof Eicholz slapped you till you turned like a top. The seats were one onto the other, and there was no place under­neath for books. Everybody had to step over or get in at the side. I was ten years old when I went to this schooi.48 Mr. Eckhardt's mother was Miss Caroline Kleberg. Plate 15 shows a certificate awarded her in 1845 for her good deportment and scholarship. Mrs. Catherine Gohmert was the mother of Mrs. Marcel­49 lus G. Eckhardt of the Eckhardt Ranch near Yorktown. (See Plate 16.) Mrs. Gohmert was born in 1848 and spent her 48 Interview, June, 1939. The Eckhardt ranch home near Yorktown, hardt die Texas, d in Yorktown, is 63 years old. in April, (See Plate 14.) 1942. Mr. Eck­ 49 Interview, June, 1939. Mrs. Gohmert•s maiden name was Schiwetz, daughter of Jacob Schiwetz. Award of Caroline Kleberg Plate 16 Mrs. Ce.therine Gohmert early childhood in the Meyersville settlement. Mrs. Goh­ mert was 94 at the time of her death in 1941, but her mind. was perfectly clear and she gave the following account of her school days: The pastor taught school, but soon we had an American teacher in Meyersville, Mr. Newton Barnes. In 1855 there was a private school near Plavy's. This was a small school taught by Mr. Sherman. There were about a dozen children. My father had a store in town. He had a large hack, and we would go to town in the morn­ing with him and in the evening we'd come back. A school was built across the river. The Masonic lodge was used for a school until it blew down in '86. Mr. W.F.Eicholz taught here and Mr. Letterman taught in the other.50 From the autobiography of Judge Rudolph Kleberg, a glimpse into life in those days is seen. (See Plate 17.) Judge Kleberg wrote: My birthday was for some time a subject for controversy, until it was authoritatively settled to be the 26th day of June, 1847, according to the official and genealog­ical registry at Glogau, Germany. I was born in a log cabin at Cat Spring, Austin County, Texas, and moved with my parents to DeWitt County, Texas, in the year 1848. The family settled about seven miles South of Clinton, near the Twelve Mile Coleto, where another log house was constructed by my father and his neighbors. The country was sparsely settled and infested with roam­ing bands of hostile Indians and marauders. The few frontier settlers were engaged almost exclusively in stock raising on the open and free range and enough farming to answer for home consumption. Game and fish abounded and Southwest Texas was the hunter's paradise. The few settlers and pioneers of this virgin country were simple and frugal in their habits and fond of frontier 50 Interview, June, 1939. life; their wants were few and they revelled in the beauties of the landscape and the excitement of the hunt and a frontiersman's trials and adventures. Thus I grew up in the solitude of nature, far away from the "Crowd's maddening strife", amid the dells and glens and seeping prairies of the then distant Southwest. The song of wild birds and the perfume of wild flowers nurtured and stimulated my young imagination and the love of good and devoted parents guided my footsteps in the paths of virtue and righteousness and laid the basis for pure and lofty aims in life. I learned my a-b-c's in a little log school house from the itinerant country school teacher. Later on, how­ever, I had the advantage of excellent private teach­ers; from Germany young students drifted out into this new country for adventure and fortune. In fact, near­ly all of these pioneers were well educated, and their culture as well as their precept and association have left a lasting impression upon me and my brothers and sisters. But above all, it was the intelligent tutor­ship of loving parents that lifted me up into the life of mental and moral endeavor and cultivated a taste for stru.dy and the acquisition of substantial knowledge. On my rambles after the sheep and live stock, I carried along and read the "Neibellungen Lied", Shiller's "Rob­bers", Wallenstein's "Lager", etc., and from my mother I learned to sing "Mignon", "Des Maedchen' s Klage", Koerner' a War Songs, and Abt's and Schubert's songs, etc., while from my father I caught the dashing and spirited words and melodies of the German Student's songs. My soul was full of music and poetry, and when as a small boy on a short visit to Eastern Tex­as I heard the first brass band, I was overcome with emotion. When I was about eight years old, I took lessons from Mr. J. Meyer, of Yorktown, Texas, on the flute, which had only one value; but I soon managed to play in concert, and was fond of improvising a second to my older brother's first flute. Our first attempts to produce a sound on this instrument were not only discouraging to us, but most annoying to the family, and we, therefore, transferred our first musical re­citals from the house to the woods. But practice and perserverance soon improved our tone, and it was not long when our flute duets were much admired by the fam­ily as well as the neighbors. I was fond also of general literature, history, lan­guages and poetry, and I took advantage of our father's library, which, although small, was well selected. Our private teacher, Mr. Albert Schluter, was a man of fine attainments. He wrote a beautiful hand, was a Plate 17 Judge Kleberg on the right 129 fine mathematician, and a walking lexicon of history. From him we learned early Grecian mythology, Ancient and Medieval history, geography, and, of course, read­ing, writing and grannnar. I shall always feel deeply indebted to him for these rudiments of knowledge which he imparted to me. Later on Mr. Otto Fuchs, a gentleman and a scholar, continued teaching us in these branches, adding to English and German, French and Spanish. And still later, it was the precept and example of Mr. G. Maetze, of Millheim, Austin County, Texas, that aided me 1'urther on these same lines of knowledge. He was a veteran teacher, a splendid gentleman and a fine schol­ ar.51 Mr. Leslie Lenz who is the son of one of De Witt County's oldest settlers recounted the following interesting facts regarding the education of that early time: Professor William T. Eicholz taught my father, Charles Lenz, in the Yorktown school in lower town. In those days classes were held in German. Later when Profes­sor Eicholz moved to Cuero and published the Cuero Deutscher Rundschau, he taught a German summer school. He always had large classes and held school on the second floor of the old brick building at the southwest corner of Esplanade street, in what was then called the Germania Hall. After Professor Eicholz quit teaching, a summer school was taught by, I believe it was Prof­fessor Mund of Yorktown. He held his school in a large one story frame building. The first kindergarten I attended in Cuero, in about 1890, was taught by Miss Mary Kleinecke. In the John French High School the superintendents that I can remem­ber were Thomas Colston and L.G. Covey. Professor Col­ston had taught school in old Indianola. He came to Cuero after the destructive Indianola storm.52 German Culture. To Yorktown these stable and superior German settlers brought a culture and refinement all their own. An examination of the history of Yorktown reveals that much interest was manifested in social, cultural, and 51Autobiography of the Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. 52correspondence, January 1942. especially musical organizations. In Yorktown, as early as 1855, we hear of balls and parties in Strieber•s private hall, the nrusic being f'urn­ished by Julius Mayer. Later there was Heisig•s hall in upper town, where balls and parties were held frequently. Mr. Mayer was the first musician and organizer of the first orchestra and he laid the foundation for the first band which was organized in 1869 by Messrs. Riedel and Gips. Then the Idean Band was organized by Charles L. Strieber a­bout 1890. This band won first prizes over the entire coun­try. In 1894 the Lone Star String Band was organized by Herman Eckhardt, who was later superseded by Alfred Zedler. The Moritz Riedel Brass Band, (Plate 18.), consisted of the following members: Joe Riedel, A. Gross, Ad Noster, R. Zuch, Ad. Strieber, F. Henze, Herman Alexander, Fred Zed­ler, William Eckhardt, H. Gips, Moritz Riedel, A. Luringer, and August Riedel. The music was composed by Moritz Riedel. (Plates 19,20, and 21 show Im.lsic and instruments used in this band.) The first lodge of Masons received its charter in 1852. In 1856 Gohmert•s Theatre was built; it had a large dancing hall and a stage with curtain scenery. Following this, in 53 1857, A. Greiser organized the first Gesangverein and The­ 53singing Club. Plate 18 The Riedel Band. The director, Moritz Riedel sits third from the right. Plate 19 Plate 20 Plate 21 Instruments and music used in Moritz Riedel Brass Band 131 54 atergesellschaft. Performances, which were given every four weeks, attracted so nmch attention that the teamsters who travelled between Indianola and San Antonio arranged their business so as to arrive at the time of these per­formances. This theatre was blown down by a tornado on March 23, 1863. The first members of the Theatergesell­ schaft included Messrs. Heizig, Louis Lenz, Fritz Kraege, and A. Greisen with Mrs. Greisen and her slster. After the war broke up the Theater Club, it was reor­ 55 ganized into a Fortschritt Verein in 1866, which later be­56 came the Casino Gesellschaft. This organization was in­corporated in 1871. Lenz 1 s Theatre was built about 1866, and became the home of balls, receptions, nmsicals, and ama­teur theatricals. In 1894, the Sandwich Club was organized; 57 and worthy of mention is the Lesezirkel. It was in the year 1875 that a new growth came to De Witt County. The storm on the Gulf destroyed Old Indianola; all the residents sought refuge elsewhere. Many stopped in Cuero, and others added to the population of Yorktown to take advantage of the mills. (See Plate 22 .) A few years after the Civil War ended, Yorktown, then 54 Theatre Society. 55Progress Club. 56casino means small house and Gesellschaft means society, party, fellowship, company, or association. Plate 22 Jack Hays Day 132 about twenty years old, had grown to a town of several hun­dred people. With no railroad and only two or three roads, including the historic Old Indianola Trail, serving the comnmnity, the people had little or no intercourse, either socially or commercially, with the nearby towns of Goliad, Victoria, Gonzales, and Hallettsville, which were located from twenty-five to fifty miles from Yorktown. Commodities were brought to Yorktown from San Antonio and the Port of Indianola by freighters over the Old Indianola Trail, and the produce of the farms was shipped to these markets by the same route. The state organization of education ceased to fUnction after the Civil War; economic changes took place; agri­culture was revolutionized; farm values decreased; and the population of Texas increased. Yet, in the face of all this, the Texas people were getting a better conception of educa­ 57 tional standards. Of the Civil War, Judge Kleberg wrote: I grew up to nascent manhood, when, before I had reached my seventeenth year I was swept into the vortex of the Civil War on a wave of Southern patriotism, and exchanged my school books for the implements of war. I could not brook the idea of being conscripted, and while I was yet a year from being of the required age for the army, I was such a large and robust youth that I began to be consid­ered as old enough for the army. I, therefore, volun­teered in the spring of 1864, and joined Tom Green's Bri­gade of Cavalry, 4th Regiment, Company C, Captain Chas. 57 Eby, The Development of Education in Texas, p.154. Linn, in Louisiana, and reached there in time to re­ceive the baptism of fire at Yellow Bayou. I contin­ued in active service, campaigning through Louisiana and Arkansas to the end of the war, when I returned home and took the oath of allegiance and again went to work on my father's farm and ranch. I did every­thing to be done on a farm and ranch; felled trees, split rails and built fences; made shingles, cut logs and built houses, ploughed, planted and gathered the crops, herded and sheared sheep, broke wild horses, and drove a six-horse team, etc. The war left the South­ern people poor and they had to do the manual labor that the slaves did before. It was a hard school, but it developed them for new and brighter destiny.58 In a county so long established, one would hardly ex­pect to find De Witt County without internal violence and wrath. Peace loving as the people were in the early days, they frequently experienced disturbances from bands of rowdies who came from neighboring communities to spread fear among the population. One of the most harrowing per­iods in the history of De Witt County was that during which the Sutton-Taylor feud prevailed. The Taylors were re­spected cattle raisers ltving on a league of land on the Guadalupe River, which had been granted to the widow of Josiah Taylor, (nephew of General Zachary Taylor), for ser­vice he rendered Mexico. At this time there were five sons: Pipkin, Creed, Josiah, William, and Rufus. Several of these sons were living on this land with their families. Sutton's origin remains obscure to this day. At the time there were many thieves and fugitives roaming across Texas, and it is 58 Autobiography of the Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. supposed that Sutton was one of these who landed in De Witt County. (See note.) Judge Kleberg was directly involved, in a lawf'ul way, with the Sutton-Taylor feud. As has been stated previously, Judge Kleberg was the first editor of the Cuero Star, and at the time during which the paper was in existence, so also was the Sutton-Taylor feud. Judge Kleberg wrote the following account in his autobiography: I soon found that a teacher's life was a precarious one financially speaking, nruch as I liked the profession of teaching. I, therefore, determined to embark in the practice of law; but not having clients, but a wife to support, I took advantage of a favorable opportunity to establish and edit a newspaper in the new railroad town of Cuero. The" Cuero Star", the first newspaper in De Witt County, was my creation. The paper had an excel­lent support and was a success from the start, although I had not only to undergo the usual trials of the editor of a country newspaper, but was in constant danger on Note:Jack Hays Day, (Plate 22), the only living survi­vor of the Sutton-Taylor feud, has written in detail a book entitled The Sutton-Taylor Feud. Mr. Day is related to the Taylor side. His father, John Day, was the half-brother of Jim Taylor who plays such an important role in the feud. In 1836 Mr. Day's grandfather brought his wife, Susan, from Geor­gia to Texas where they settled at St. Augustine. The fam­ily moved to De Witt County around 1840, and it was two years later that his grandfather met death at the hands of the In­dians. Mr. Day's grandmother then became the wife of Pipkin Taylor, (Plate 23), After Buck Taylor's death at the hands of Bill Sutton, the Days naturally went to the assistance of the Taylors. Even though in the beginning of the feud Mr. Day was only a beardless youth, he was constantly on hand and was seasoned under the fire of out-law guns. account of the existing lawlessness which I denounced in the severest terms. For nru.tual protection, the law abiding citizens of Cuero had to form a home protection club to enforce law and order and protect life and prop­erty in Cuero. Mr. Ben Hunt was the captain of the or­ganization and I was one of its lieutenants. One even­ing I was summoned to the Police Court and found that the famous William Taylor was under arrest for unlaw­fUlly carrying a pistol and wanted me to defend him and prepare his bond. When I left the court room, I was told the City Marshall, Rubin Brown, intended to arrest Taylor for the nrurder of William Sutton and to hold my­self in readiness if the protection club was called out. No sooner had I reached my law office than I heard the sharp crack of pistols and rifles. I armed myself and hastened out on the streets where I found the marshall carrying Taylor to jail, surrounded by a posse and at­tacked by the friends of Taylor, who swarmed around on horseback. We soon drove them out of town and jailed the prisoner on the charge of the Wm. Sutton murder. During the night I was in charge of the guard most of the time who guarded the jail, as well against the at­tempts of his friends to liberate him, as against the friends of Wm. Sutton who intended to mob Taylor. The next morning a detail of the Home Protection Club, under the command of Lt. Seeligson and myself, took the pris­oner to Indianola for safekeeping. On the way down, near Cuero, our train was fired upon by the prisoner sym­pathizers, but we returned the fire and drove them back and continued our journey and landed our prisoner in the Calhoun County jail. I was several times summoned by the marshall as a posse and always responded. Through the efforts of Judge H. Pleasants, (Plate 24), County Attorney S.F.Grimes, and the law-abiding citizens of the county, the state rangers, and the press~ law­lessness was finally overcome after many years.~9 The most disturbing element with which the population had to contend was Wesley Hardin and his gang. (Plate 25.) It is said that his terroristic visits were so frequent in this section that a group of men planned means to combat him. 59 Autobiography of the Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. Plate 24 Judge Pleasants This led to the organization of the Home Guards. Regular drills were held, and on one occasion it is related, the Hardin gang drove to the drill grounds and hurled sarcasms and taunts at the guards. Prepared for this eventuality, the commanding officer ordered his guards to charge the gang; this they did with savage determination, but without causing bloodshed. Surprised and humiliated, Hardin and his gang sped away on their horses, and never appeared again to harass the people. However, in Mr. Day's book, The Sutton­Taylor Feud, there is more to be found concerning the deeds of John Wesley Hardin. His trouble began when the masquer­ading deputy sheriff of De Witt County, who was a notorious murderer and a member of the Sutton gang, sent two negroes to search for Hardin, who had taken up guns in favor of the Taylors. Shooting ensued. Later Jim rr•aylor' s herd was ready to take to the trail. Hardin owned some cattle in this herd also. Taylor and Hardin left a few days early for Comanche, where Hardin shot Webb, the deputy sheriff of Brown County, on learning that he was considered an outlaw in the eyes of Webb. Some time later, Hardin left for Flor­ida with his wife. He was trailed by a detective, who fin­ally caught him by following him to Pensacola where he had gone to effect a settlement with a railroad company. He was arrested and sentenced to the penitentiary for twenty five years. After serving fifteen years, Hardin was per­ Plate 25 Wesley Hardin 137 mitted to go to Cuero to plead guilty to the murder of a man with whom he had had trouble in East Texas. He was par­doned a few years before his term expired. While he was in the penitentiary, Hardin studied law; and when he returned to Gonzales, he was admitted to the bar. After about a year he went to El Paso, where he was shot in the back while in­ 60 nocently matching for drinks at a bar. Captain Rudd, who was 97 at the time of his death, came o~r from England when he was 26, and lived in Yorktown for 60 years. (Plates 26 and 27.) His first introduction to De Witt County was at the time of the Sutton-Taylor feud. Captain Rudd wa:s a Texas Ranger in Company 107, from 1874 to 1884. At that time one part of the county was divided against the other; and the Rangers tried to put a stop to this. Captain Rudd mused: In 1881 there was a great deal of cattle stealing going on throughout the country. I was then in Captain Mc­Kenley1 s company. The governor of the state of Tamaul­ipas was head of the stealing. He shipped the cattle to Havana by steamer. The Mexican Government sent him to Mexico City where he stayed until he died.61 Memories of the Sutton-Taylor feud still produce an ef­feet upon the old settlers; perhaps many incidents of the affair are not exaggerated. In spite of that, the less said, 60 Day: The Sutton-Taylor Feud, PP• 24-28. 61 Interview, June, 1939. Captain Rudd died a year ago. Plate 27 Plate 26 Captain Rudd the better. De Witt County has many other reconciliatory phases of its growth to extirpate those which conjure up un­pleasant recollections. Schools in Cuero. Shortly after the Gulf, West Texas, and Mexican Railroad reached the town of Cuero in 1873, and the village proved to be a settlement of lasting duration, the desire for educational facilities was manifested in the hearts and minds of the substantial citizens who were inter­ested in having their children acquire learning adequate to their needs. It was true that Clinton had a school, as schools went in the days of feuds, and at Concrete the old college of Rev. Covey was serving its purpose, but Cuero had to have a school of her own. At this time the state did not set a seven dollar per capita appropriation, and bond issues were out of the ques­tion, because there was nothing to issue bonds against. Therefore some of the business men got together, and large­ly at their own expense, they financed a stock company that had for its purpose the provision of a system of public in­struction for the children of Cuero. Having formed this stock company--in which some of the prime movers were c.c. Howerton, L.C.Fudge, and Louis Seeligson--the organization began casting about for a suitable instructor. After care­ful consideration, Professor D.W. Nash was induced to come to Cuero from Lockhart in the spring of 1873. He was a 139 Virginian by birth, and became a Texan by adoption. (See Plate 28.) He was born at Petersburg, Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and received his education at Richmond College, Richmond, Virginia. Probably no landmark in Cuero has a more interesting history than the old Nash School which was razed to the ground to provide building material for a new garage on the property of Dr. J.W. Burns. The first Nash School building stood near where Mr. Will Miller's house stands--the exact locality is marked by a great live oak tree which stood near the door of this building--and it came to be known as the Academy. An early writer in the Cuero Star--published at the time when Rudolph Kleberg was its editor, and before it passed into the hands of A.S.Crisp--had this to say of the school: In September, 1873, D.W. Nash came as a pioneer educator from Lockhart and opened a school in a square box house. The Academy, as it was called, was quite remote from the din of busy traffic and was at a safe distance from the not infrequent shootings that took place on the streets at the time. West of the building was a thicket of chap­paral which served as ample play ground for the boys and girls. Miss Mary Jane Pleasants taught the first primary school in Cuero, and it was under her gentle Christian in­fluence that many children in Cuero began their education.62 Here Mr. Nash taught for some years until he realized that a larger and more up-to-date building was necessary to 62 Cuero Star. This article was found in a scrap book loaned by Mrs. John Calhoun, daughter of Prof. Nash. Plate 28 Professor D.W. Nash properly accommodate the large number of boys and girls now enrolled in the school. On his own responsibility, Profes­ sor Nash planned and erected a large two-story frame struc­ ture that stood on the grounds adjoining the Nash home. This building boasted a large assembly hall and a number of class rooms sufficient to accommodate teachers and pupils in every department of the school. For many years Professor Nash con­ tinued to carry on the good work he began as a pioneer teach­ er in the early days of Cuero, until failing health compelled him to abandon his endeavors. Miss Annie Elizabeth Murphree, ( Plate 29), who was a teacher in Mr. Nash's school, gives the following character sketch of the professor: In the very beginning of my own career as a teacher it was my privilege to have been associated with Mr. Nash as his assistant primary teacher. From this experience I learned many valuable lessons which proved helpful in aofter years. Mr. Nash was a fine disciplinarian and a most excellent teacher. He had the happy faculty of being able to im­part his knowledge to others and being himself so famil­iar and conversant with the subjects he taught, he could and did make every lesson so plain and so clear to the minds of his students that those early impressions were everlasting. He demanded of his pupils strict obedience to the rules of the school; and he must have been a pretty good judge of human nature, for more than once a boy or girl was heard to say in all confidence, 11 It1 s no use trying to put anything by Mr. Nash; he has eyes in the back of his head." It was his policy to employ able and competent teachers to assist him in his work, while he at the same time, served in the capacity of a combined superintendent, principal and general supervisor, besides teaching many of the higher branches. Mr. Nash's theory was not so much that of Don't as of Do. Many times he quoted to his students, "Always strive to do your best," or "Do with your might what your hands find to do, but always do the right thing." Then he would add with a twinkle in his eye, and last but by no means least in importance, "Do as I say.11 Should students fail to measure up to this standard, then to a casual observer he may have seemed stern or perhaps cross, but those who knew him best, knew him to be always kind, considerate, and in gerruine sympathy with the boys and girls in his school. At play time--particularly recess--he was a boy with his boys, participating in and enjoying all their games; then the boys, both large and small, felt free to talk, laugh, and joke with him; but at the tap of the old bell, all were again assembled in the classroom, and there was a radical change. All frivolity was abolished and these same boys realized the necessity of again knuckling down to hard study. Mr. Nash's school, or the Guadalupe Academy as it was sometimes called, was far famed, and boys and girls came from a distance to Cuero for the sole purpose of entering Mr. Nash's school. Many of these students boarded with the Nash family. Mr. Nash was partial to or was particularly interested in the boys. It was his delight to train them in the art of speech making or oratory in general. He organ­ized debating teams among the boys and had them hold regular meetings for practice once or twice a month in the school building. He was always present and ready to advise, encourage, and stimulate them to greater ef­forts and higher aims. Often these meetings were open to the public and drew good crowds, since both the speeches and debates were highly entertaining, and help­:f'ul to the boys themselves. This is evidenced by the fact that in later years many of the boys became noted and talented lawyers, prominent and success:f'ul business men and ever skilled and widely famed physicians and surgeons. The pupils of Mr. Nash's school, or a large majority of them were numbered with the very best and most prominent citizens of Cuero, being active leaders in the important business matters and civic affairs. Many of this number are still with us, well known and highly esteemed. Today they are living monuments to Mr. Nash's ability as educator.63 63 This account was supplied by Miss Nell Murphree of Thomaston, niece of Miss .Annie Elizabeth Murphree. For facts of Miss Annie E. Murphree•s life, see Appendix L. 142 Some of the teachers who were associated with Professor Nash at various times were Miss Mary Teas, Miss Annie .Mur­phree, (see note), Mrs. W.K.Breeden, and Mrs. Otto Buchel. Dr. John Burns was one of his pupils, who later helped in the teaching. Some of the students in Professor Nash's school were Dr. John Burns, and his brother, Judge J.C. Burns of Goliad, Fielding Breeden, Mrs. Otto Staerker, Mrs. Otto Buchal, Mrs. Lelia Seeligson, Miss Nora Fudge, Judge R.A. Pleasants, Sam Lackey, Albert Dietze, Caesar Kleberg, Otto Eckhardt, Mrs. V.B. Proctor, Mrs. Jessie Rathbone, and Mrs. Jennie Lackey. After Cuero had provided a public school system, Prof­fessor Nash built the school on his own property and con­tinued to teach a private school. After the fire which burned the De Witt County Court House in April, 1894, the old Nash school building had another part to play in the history of the county, as it served as offices and a place to keep the records of the county until the present court house could be completed. Following the death of the noted instructor, the old building fell into disuse and has stood idle as a connecting link between the past and the present, Note:Mrs. Bettie Peavy is a half-sister of Miss Annie .Mur­phree. Mrs. Peavy has lived the greater part of her life in De Witt County, and attended Major Carruth's school at Clin­ton. As she lived in Clinton as a child she remembers very little about the characteristics of Major Carruth as she was only eight or ten years old, but she relates that Major Carruth was a very likeable man. She studied the old blue-backed spel­ler, McGuffey's Reader, and Davies' Arithmetic. although at one time it served as a summer business college for Professor Howard Baldwin and his classes. When the pres­ ent high school building was in prospect an effort was made to secure the Nash grounds for this purpose, but the memo­ ries of the past were too strong for Mrs. Nash to give up the school which meant so nru.ch to her. Mrs. Otto Buchel, whom we have mentioned before, said of the Nash school: The first school in Cuero was organized by Mr. Nash from Lockhart in 1873. It was first known as the Academy; afterwards it became the Guadalupe Academy under Profes­sor D.W. Nash, assisted by a group of instructors among whom were Miss Annie Murphree, Mrs. M.E. Breeden, and Miss Mary Teas. The school became an outstanding insti­tution of learning for the section. Judge Rudolph Kle­berg, Jr., and Mrs. Otto Eckhardt were among those at­tending school. After the storm of 1 75 many German fam­ilies moved from Indianola; then a German-English school was organized. We had a German teacher by the name of Roos from New York. I went to school to him and taught the lower classes. After the storm the school was en­larged. Professor Colstein was the first public school superintendent in the county.64 In Nash's school for every subject 50~ extra was paid by the students. Of Major Carruth's school, Mrs. Buchel said: I also went to school to Major Carruth, who had a big two-story building. The Misses McAllister taught, one having the upstairs, the other, downstairs. There were only four Latin pupils in town, Mrs. Otto Eckhardt, Miss Hutchins, myself, and one other. Prof. Forth organized 64 Early in the history of Cuero a German-English school was established and later merged into a grade school. It is thought that this was the school of which Prof. Colston was the head, and in which Mrs. Buchel was for sometime an able assistant. the first music class. I taught at this school. I helped at home in the morning before, had a class during recess, walked home, got dinner, and taught up until after recess. Then I had my music after supper.65 Mrs. Henry Edgar of Cuero made the following statements about the Nash school: Many of the prominent men of this section went to the Nash school. It was the only school around here of that kind. My teachers were Professor Lackey and Miss Mary Teas. Professor Nash taught the higher grades himself. I started when I was about four or five, and I finished under Mr. Nash. He was very strict in school. The boys never got too large for him to take care of. He was a very likeable man. We had an exam­ination given by the county. The building was two­story with four big rooms. The old building is now on Rice Boulevard. The Rice home is built out of the old school. The Nash's kept boarders. Mr. Nash used the upstairs of the school himself. When I first started to school it was over by Schleicher's home and Will Miller's. This building burned down. The storm blew the new one down. There weren't as many teachers then as there are now. There was an old wood stove in the school house. Mr. Nash illustrated on the black­board. We used slates. I boarded with Judge Terry. For punishment he made us stand in the corner with our face to the wall. Mr. Nash was always very positive in school and his whippings were severe. My house is built on the boys• playground. My house has been built for 58 years. I was born in 1869.66 The Cuero Star printed the following write-up of Pro­ fessor Nash in 1906: He has always taught a prosperous school and for the past two or three sessions large numbers of bright and promising young men have matriculated in his Academy from neighboring counties. Probably no private school in south Texas is enjoying a better and more satisfac­ 65 Interview, June, 1939. 66 Interview, February, 1942. Plate 29 Miss Annie Elizabeth Murphree 110 PRAIRIE ST .. HOliSTON 145 tory patronage at this time than the Guadalupe Academy. The large numbers of men of mature years, in this part of the state, who owe their success in life so largely to Professor Nash have made it their business to exert their influence to induce young men from every direction to lay the foundation of a successful business or a professional career with Professor Nash in his Academy.67 The following was copied from the Guadalupe Academy Annual Catalogue, Academic Year 1903-1904, Twenty fifth year: D.W. Nash was elected Principal for five consecutive years. He thereafter purchased the property of said Trustees and converted the same into an Academy. This school has been controlled and managed since its incor­poration by him with marked success. A large number of young ladies and young men have taken their academic course and entered different colleges and Universities after passing rigid examinations. This Academy prides itself upon thorough Academic work. Terms per session of 20 weeks, Board and Tuition $100. Day pupils, $5.00 per month, in advance.68 Among those who were kind enough to describe their early school experiences for this writer, was Mrs. Tip Alexander. She was born in 1847, and she was 95 years old in February, 1942. Her maiden name was Marshall, and she was born on the Dalman place. She related: I went four miles to school to Covey on the river. I 67 Mr. O.T. Nash of San Antonio, Texas, submitted the a­bove article from an edition of the Cuero Star. Mr. Nash is a son of Professor Nash, and he received his education from his father. He said that his father taught continuously from 1873 to 1910, except for four years which he spent as Postmas­ter during Cleveland's second administration. 68 Supplied by Mr. Leslie Lenz. 146 boarded in Clinton and Ma'd take me home on Friday eve­nings and I crossed the river in a ferry boat. One time the river was up and we couldn't cross and they put us in a skiff and carried us across. One day I was with Buck McCrabbe on the high bridge. Jane McCrabbe was on a spirited horse. It reared up right on in the river. It drowned Jane McCrabbe and her horse. I knew James Smith well. I was one of the founders of the Methodist church here in Cuero. I went to college at Hallettsville and lived with Peter Marshal1.69 Mr. Jack Hays Day was born in 1856, about three miles south of where Cuero now stands. Clinton was the County seat and Mr. Day lived about six miles from Clinton. He related the following facts concerning his early school days: I went to school first at Burns Station. That was five miles from my home. I was about nine years old. I went to a lady teacher and then a man. Some of the boys I remember are the Garner boys, the Thomas boys, the Shanks, Meyers, the Neills, and the Taylors. Mr. Nash started a school and it was the only school in Cuero. He built it himself. It was a small box-like house. He was really teaching school when he died. Some days we used the Blue Backed Speller. In those days we didn't have as many books as they do now. We could carry all we had in our pockets. I went to private homes to school. These homes took care of about twenty students. The homes belonged to Josh Dowlearn and Frank Lowe. Settle­ments were pretty scattered. Cuero started when the Morgan Line built a railroad from Victoria to Cuero.70 69 Interview, February, 1942. Mrs. Alexander's maiden name was Susan Missouri Marshall. In Hallettsville she went to school to Miss Cornelia McDormett. She attended the Case school in Clinton. This was a very select schoo1 fo.r young ladies, conducted in old Clinton for the duration of the Civil War by Mrs. Joel T. Case. Mr. Case was a Presbyterian minister and the family lived ln Victoria for many years until the hard­ships of the war drove them away. At the end of the war they returned to Victoria where Rev. Case died in 1868, and Mrs. Case established a school for young ladies again which she con­ducted for many years. 70 Interview, March, 1942 Mr. C.M.Myers was born in 1873 about one mile south of Irish Creek, De Witt County. He gave the following inter­ esting reminiscences of his early school days: My first teacher when I was barely seven years of age was my great aunt, Mrs. Malinda Cook. Mrs. Cook was the daughter of John Keith Rankin of Virginia and the grand-daughter of Colonel Robert Rankin. Colonel Rob­ert Rankin, my great great grandfather is the only of­ficer of the American Revolution buried in Texas, in Austin. Aunt Malinda taught for a few years. She was a widow. Her husband was nru.rdered at the hands of an unknown assailant. It is said that he was mistaken for a spy or horse thieves. He was found dead, his body still warm. After Aunt Malinda there was a very dear old maid related to the Bates family on Irish Creek by the name of McAughan. I walked about three miles to her small home on top of a high hill near the Bates ranch on Irish Creek. At this time I could speak 11 The boy stood on the burning deck" and 11 0h, were you ne're a school boy". At old Burns Station I began with a Miss Fannie Powell of Mississippi. She was a fine woman. Then John w. Burns one or two years. Then a Professor Rambo. Then Profes­sor Ritter, who was a Dutch or German yankee from Penn­sylvania. Professor Ritter was a college man. So was Rambo. I shall go to the grave in grateful remembrance of these men. Professor Ritter meant nru.ch to me. My father, Houston Myers was a trustee all this time. There was a good school in Cuero all this time. First I believe a Professor Nash. Then Professor Legrand Covey. Four miles below Burns Station at Thomaston was also a good school. I do not know about the early schools of old Clinton and other places but I believe that Cuero had the first good high school of that day. I think that Professor Ritter was the best educated man in De Witt County, though not a native of the country, as he was a college trained man. I have my arithmetic and Quackenbas' old physics and Rhetoric (first published 1871 through 1887). I may have my old Swinton's History. I think there was a school on what was called the head of the Coleto Creek. North and west of the Guadalupe River the prairie black land was settled by some fine German people. Great uncle Moses Rankin and c.c. Burns were both well-educated men, self-educated. Really Bible scholars. I have been a student for sixty years and the field of education is still unexplored. The last 148 word has not been said. In these settlements all the white people owned their homes. The Burns Station Community was a moral and re­ligious place. Out of this small village went four ministers. I am one of them. Also two high railroad officials (Irving and George Cottingham), one fine doc­tor, J.W. Burns, two distinguished lawyers, one girl who is now a missionary. I think Cuero had more high class, cultured lawyers than any town in Texas, Colonel V.C.Proctor, Rudolph Kleberg, Samuel Lackey, Sr., the silver tongued orator Honorable W.H.Crain whose English and diction was as chaste as Ad­dison1 s. It is said of him that he never made a gram­matical error in speaking even in pleading a case before the jury. There was much criminal practice in those days when I was a boy. What a great array of legal talent. Today I think of the new mown hay, cattle on the open range, herds of deer, riding all day sometimes without lunch to satisfy my boyish hunger, our quiet talks, father and I. How much he has meant to me all these yearsi What a glorious heritage~ It would be base ingratitude if I had ever departed from such an atmosphere.71 Correspondence, February, 1942. DR.J.V. E.COVEY PRESIDENT OF CONCR-ETE COLLEGE 1864 -I 8 80 AN OU"(STANDING TEXAS fDUCATOR Plate 30 CHAPTER IV CONCRETE COLLEGE Founding of the College. Among the most important non­1 denominational schools "with no restrictions in the charter but one which was equally accessible to all without regard 2 to religious or political opinions" was Concrete College, situated at the present village of Concrete. It was founded by the Reverend J.V.E.Covey some time in 1865. The exact date is uncertain; naturally there are various opinions con­cerning the time of the establishment of the institution. Concrete College was, however, one of the best schools of this period, even though it existed only fifteen years, or 3 perhaps a little more. It was by far the most important institution in the county, and for this reason it and its founder are singled out for special investigation and dis­ cussion. John Van Epps Covey was born on February 11, 1821, in Fenner County, New York. He was graduated from Madison, 1 It was a distinctly Baptist institution, but non-denom­inational in the sense of not being under the control of any convention or district association. 2 Ledlow: History of Protestant ~ducation in Texas, p.76. 3 Carroll: A History of Texas Baptists, pp.417,418. -149 now Colgate, University in 1845, and in 1873 this university conferred upon him the degree of Doctor of Divinity. About the time of his graduation the Reverend James Huckins, one of the founders of Baylor University, addressed the students of Madison College in their chapel exercises. It is sup­posed that Covey heard this address and was imbued with a desire to go to 'l'exas. In 1846, the year after his gradua­ tion from Madison, Mr. Covey married Mrs. Louisa Renshaw Fastwood of Pennsylvania, and moved to Tennessee where he was president of the Campbell Academy from 1846 to 1849. Later, under appointment as financial agent, he raised funds for the establishment of Brownsville Female Baptist College, Brownsville, Tennessee. In 1854 Mr. Covey moved to Texas and became president of the Masonic school at Palestine for two or three years. While teaching in Palestine he assisted in organizing three churches and preached once a month to each of them. In the year 1856 he was mentioned as one of the trustees of Luther Rice Baptist Female College at Marshall, Texas. After the death of his baby boy, Mr. Covey1 s hoalth failed and he felt compelled to s e ek a drier climate. He left that section of the state and went to take charge of Alma Institute at Hallettsville, Texas. Alma Institute was established in Hallettsville in 1852, opened for business in 4 1853, and its incorporation was approved in 1854. Dr. Covey went there after 1854 because at that time he was 5 teaching in a school at Trinity. Passing through Anderson he preached twice for Editor and Pastor George w. Baines, who was absent at the time, and who later wrote as follows: All of our people were nm.ch pleased with Bro. Covey's preaching. He is on his way to take charge of a school in Hallettsville. Be is a fine scholar wj_th an estab­ lished reputation as a teacher, but he is too good a preacher to be confined to the school room.6 In the Texas Baptist of September 2, 1857, appeared the advertisement of Covey's Hallettsville school, which was called Alma Institute. Here he was president and Professor of Ancient Languages and Belles Lettres. Mrs. Louisa Covey was instructress of mathematics and natural sciences; Mrs. E.A.Blackshear was instructress of instrumental and vocal nm.sic, while Miss Sallie Hillyer was assistant in the nm-sical and primary departments. The academic year began the first Monday in September, and ended the last Friday in June. Vacations were in the months of July and August. Board, including washing, 11-ghts, etc., in the Institute or in excellent families in town was ten dollars per month. 4 Leslie: History of Lavaca County Schools, PP• 64,65. 5 'l'exas State Gazette, July 29, 1854. 6 Carroll: -2.E..! ~, p. 221. 152 How long this school continued at Hallettsville no available records show, but Covey was e vidently there till 1864. During this time he preached all over Southwest Texas. When Dr. and Mrs. Covey left Hallettsville they moved direct­ly to Concrete where Dr. Covey later becrune pastor. During the years that Concrete College was in existence the Reverend Mr. Covey preached regularly to churches in the surrounding country. The advent of the railroad necessitated a change in the basis of his operations, and in 1881 he moved to Tilden. Here he was intent upon raising funds for McMullen College. After his retirement, he continued to preach and do mission work until shortly before his death in 1898 at Cotulla, Texas. It is said of Dr. Covey that he was modest and unassum­ing as a timid girl. He was never heard to utter a word or insinuation the least impure. From his financial losses at Concrete he did not recover, but he never murmured a complaint. Hundreds of people all over the South in every walk of life look back to the days of their youth and bless him who taught not only the sciences of the day, but also the true principles 8 of a usefUl life. 7 Carroll, op.cit., p. 221. 8 Covey Papers, University Archives. 153 The Reverend Woodlief Thomas, son-in-law of Dr. Covey and vice-president of the college, was born in Tennessee in 1828. (See Plate 31.) He was graduated from Wise College and from Union University, where he took a theological course. It appears that Mr. Thomas served as pastor of the First Bap­tist Church in Austin for a year or two about the beginning of the Civil War. In this post he was pastor and close friend 9 of General and Mrs. Sam Houston. When Texas aeceded, Pastor Thomas was elected Chaplain of the first volunteer company of Austin. In 1865 he married Janey Covey, only child of Mr. and Mrs. Covey. For sixteen years Mr. Thomas was vice-president and teacher of mathematics at Concrete College. He represented De Witt County in the Legislature in 1879. When he died he left an untarnished 10 name and an inheritance of faith and honesty. Mrs. Bee Thomas Coleman of Ft. Worth, Texas, is the daughter of the Reverend Woodlief Thomas and Janey Covey. There were seven Thomas children who were all born at Con­crete College. 'rhe family l eft there when the youngest daugh­ter was but a baby. Mrs. Coleman attended t he primary depart­ment as she was too young to be in thB college division. He r g Brooks: History of the First Baptist Church, Austin, Texas, p • 12 • 10 Covey Papers, University Archives. Plate 31 The Woodlief 'rhomas family Rev. and Mrs. 'l'homas, Louisa Renshaw, Eliza Bass, (Bee) , Covey c., Sarah Woodlief, (Sallie), Woodlief, Atha, Janie Cove y. teachers were Misses Frankie Kohn, Maggie Barber, and Lav­enia Douglass. The Coveys and Mr. Thomas took great interest in the buying of land in their vicinity. There are numerous in­stances recorded in the Deed Record Book of De Witt Count;y which prove that the two families were eager to provide for posterity. Ownership of these lands represented the sem­blance of permanence and the desire to erect a structure of importance. In 1865 Isaac Steen sold the Coveys a certain tract of land near the town of Concrete. This tract was a part of the John McCoy league, being a tract of five acres reserved by Isaac Steen in his deed to Joseph Stevens of the land be­longing to O.D.Coppedge. The said tract lay on the east side of the ravine east of Concrete and the main road. The 11 exchange was ~1];75.00. In October of the same year, O.D. Coppedge sold to Covey six acres of land near Concrete wl:J.ich was also a part 12 of the McCoy league. Covey purchased this land for $125.00 In December, 1865, John McGehee, for $150.00 in stock of the college, conveyed to F.M.Taylor ten acres of land in a square upon which the college buildings were at the time 11 Deed Record Book K, De Witt County, pp.111,112. 12­lE.!£•, P• 113. Plate 32 Si gnatur e of Woodlief Thomas to the certification of the boundaries for Concrete College 155 being built. This land was a part of the K.W. Barton 13 league. In 1867 J.M. Connelly deeded to Woodlief Thomas a parcel of land, fifty acres, for $600.00. In May, 1872, F.M. Taylor, mentioned above, who was pres­ ident of the trustees of the college sold to Covey for $150.00 all of the right, title, and inte,rest conveyed to Taylor by McGehee of the land upon which the college buildings stood, and known as the college lot bounded as follows: Beginning at Covey•s south west corner near the corner of Peebles and Company and C.H. Sanders now James Baker's lot and running on down the ravine to the right comple­ment of varas to make a ten acre lot or parcel of land, thence east the right number of varas to make ten acres in a square. Thence north of Covey's line the right complement of varas to make ten acres in a square. Thence west the same number of varas to the beginning.14 Location of the College. In 1867 a survey of the bound­ aries of the college land was made by E.M. Steen. (Plate 32.) This survey of the boundary incorporating Concrete College was as follows: Begining at the south East Corner at a place known as Coon hollow thence North fifteen thousand, two hundred and six (15206) Varas to the N.E. corner on the Roberts League midway between the residence of Messrs. Bulwers and Glass Thence West fifteen thousand two hundred and six (15206) Varas passing 300 Varas North of Morrises striking the tim­ber on the River at Roth's and Shannon's lime kiln crossing 13 Deed Record Book K, De Witt County, P• 466. 14--­ ~., ~M, p.5os. 156 the Guadalupe River 200 Varas below the Southern extrem­ity of round prairie to a Stake from which bears Sam Pea's residence N 20° E 409 Vas Thence South fifteen thousand two hundred and six (15206) Vas through the Mot of timber near the corner of M. Miller's pasture fence and along the Eastern Slope of the range of hills west of Dr Peebles plantation to a stake in prairie from which bears a lone hackberry. E 72 Vas. Thence East fifteen thousand two hun­dred and six (15206) Vas crossing the Guadalupe River on a line 200 Vas of the old Davis house passing 12 vas south of the residence of E.R. North to the place of begining.15 Evidently this survey was made after the buildings were con­ structed, because as early as 1865 they were being built. (See Footnote 13.) An act to incorporate Concrete College was approved April 9,1873. It read as follows: Sec. 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, that J.V.E. Covey, Woodlief Thomas, and A.G.Bonney, and their associates are hereby created and declared to be a body politic and corporate by the name and style of Con­crete College, and by that name shall have 20 years suc­cession with power to contract and be contracted with,sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded; to have a cormnon seal, and shall have the right to acquire by purchase, donation, subscription, personal and real estate, for the purpose of maintaining an institution of learning. Sec. 2. That said 'Concrete College' shall have the power through by-laws to provide for such officers and direc­tors as may be deemed best for the interests of said in­stitution. Sec. 3. That Concrete College, through its president and faculty, be, and is hereby empowered to confer the degree of Bachelor and Master of Arts; grant diplomas, certificates of proficiency and rewards of merit. Sec. 4. That all buildings, with their furniture, libra­ries, and philosophical apparatus, now or hereafter used by Concrete College for the purpose of education and lands attached thereto, not exceeding ten acres, be and the same are hereby exempt from taxation. 15 covey Papers, University Archives. Sec. 5. That this act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.16 In June of the same year an act was passed to prevent the sale or gift of spirituous or intoxicating liquors with­ in two miles of Concrete College. It read as follows: Seo. 1. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Texas, That it shall be unlawful to sell or give away any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, ale, or malt liquors, bitters, brandy peaches or cherries, or any kind of brandy fruit put up in alcohol or intoxicating spirits, within two miles of Concrete College, an institution of learning situated at Concrete, De Witt County, Texas,ex­cept for sacramental purposes. Sec. 2. Any person who shall violate the provisions of the first section of this act shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction shall be fined in any sum not less than $25 nor more than $100. Sec. 3. That this act takes effect and be in force 60 days after its passage.17 The foregoing act was presented to the Governor of Texas for his approval on the second day of June, 1873. It was not signed by him or returned with his objections to the House in which it originated within the time prescribed by the Consti­tution, and thereupon became a law without his signature. It has been said that in the early fifties the inhabit­ants of Cuero hauled lumber from Old Indianola to Concrete for the purpose of building a school. As Concrete College was not founded as early as the fifties, it appears that this 16 Deed Record Book O, De Witt County, Texas, pp.46,47. 17 ~., P• 47. probably was mention of another early school. The only other institution about which there is any mention at all in the County Records is one referred to as Concrete Academy. The date given is 1854 and it appears in a deed record to the trustees of Concrete Academy. A.J.Hodge and his wife, in con­ sideration of the benefit likely to arise from the e stablish­ ing of institutions of learning at Concrete, 'l'exas, donated to the trustees of Concrete Academy, namely James M. Baker, A.G. Stevens, J.R. North, and F.M.Taylor, two plots of land lying in the town of Concrete and known as school lots. The two pieces of land comprised two acrEs and are described as follows: One beginning at a stake in A.J.Hodges south boundary and Joseph Stevens North boundary, their dividing line from which a large live oak bears North 20° West 7 poles, marked with a cross being in a cluster of Live Oaks; 'l'hence North 30 East 25-1/3 pole to a stake from which a large live oak bears N 85° West; Thence North 85 West; Thence North 350 West 25-1/3 poles to a stake from which a large live oak bears south 46° 3-3/4 poles; Thence south 3 west 25-1/3 poles to a stake in Hodges & Stevens line from which a Post oak bears North 4° East ~ pole; Thence South 950 East with Hodge s & Stevens line 25-1/3 poles to the beginning, containing by late survey four acres. The other lot on the North boundary of A.J.Hodge land begins at a stake in the dividing line of A.J.Hodge & Isaac Steins line from which stake a large Live Oak bears south 3 west 9 poles; Thence south 3 west from said stake 12-3/4 poles to a stake from which a large live oak bears North 3° East 3-3/4 poles; 'rhence l~orth 850 We st 25-3/4 poles to a stake; -0 Thence North 3 East 12-3/4 pole s to a stake in Stein & Hodges line from which a Live Oak bears south 5° East 2 poles; Thence with Steens line south 85 E 25-3/4 poles to the Begining, containing by late survey two acres and for the better security of the Tittle hereby conveyed or intended to be conveyed the said A.J.Hodge & wife M.V.Hodge for themselves, their heirs, executors, ad­ministrators and assigns, doth covenant and agree to and with the said James M. Baker, A.G.Stevens, J.R. North & F.M.Taylor, Trustees as aforesaid and their successors in office, to Warrant and forever defend the same against the lawful claim or claims of any and all persons whatever.18 It was understood between the parties of the foregoing deed that in case the school board at Concrete should fail to build academies on either or both of the lots mentioned within four years, the lots would be the property of the Hodges. In July of the next year Isaac Steen and his wife en­ tered into a deed for the purpose of donating to the trus­ tees of Concrete Academy a certain piece of land described as follows: Begins at the N. West corner of the two acre tract as a stal{e in Steens and Hodges line from which a Live Oak bears south 50 Ea.st 2 poles; Thence North 3o East six and three fourths poles to a stake; Thence South 85° East twenty five and one third poles to a stake; Thence South 30 West s:ix & three fourths poles to a stake on Steens & Hodges line; Thence North 85° West with Steens & Hodges line twenty five and one third poles to the beginning of this one acre tract.19 18 Deed Record Book F, De Witt County, Texas, pp.463-465. 19­~., PP• 466,467. Both of these deeds appeare d before James N. Smith who was the first county clerk in De Witt County. Smith sealed and filed the deeds in the office in Clinton. Mr. Jim North's grandfather was Trustee James M. Baker referred to above. Mr. North remembers his grandfather say­ing he knew who burned down the academy. Mrs. North's fa­ther, William Glass, taught in Concrete Academy. Professor Nash once remarked that Mr. Glass was t he best Latin teach­er he ever saw. Mr. Glass was the first man in the county to get a first grade certificate. He went to Austin to take the examination and never looked inside an English grammar until he began teaching school. Concrete Academy was located south of the Will McCor­mick home, which was formerl-:,r the home of Dr. Coppedge. Af­ter the burning of the Academy Reve rend Cove y and Mr. Thomas undertook to build Concrete College, which is the institution to which this chapter is devoted. The contract to build the college was given to Mr. Gernandt, a citizen in the Concrete 20 comnrunity. The Campus, Teachers, and Curriculum. Acquiring infor­mation concerning old Concrete College has be en difficult because of the fact that those who went to school there have 20 State Library Archives. grown so old that they are incapable of r emembering much about their college days. Many have died and others have moved away, leaving no address. Most of the persons avail­able are those who went to Concret e as very small children, having entered in the Primary Department. The college buildings were constructed of rock quarried at Hochheim. The buildings were in three divisions. The first, known as Covey College, was the regular college build­ing. The dimensions were approximately 150 feet by 40 feet. With petitions dividing the classrooms. Dr. Covey presided over classes in one end of the large room, his desk on a raised platform. Miss Bettie Morris held classes in the opposite end of the same room for the younger students. J.P. Woolsey held classes in the smaller room forming the L. The L was divided into a large dining room and kitchen. In the dining-room were two long tables, one for the girls and one for the boys. Mr. and Mrs. Woodliet Thomas sat at the head of the boys' table, while Dr. and Mrs. Covey super­vised the girls' table. The floors were made of split logs, and the inside walls were plastered white. On the campus, in addition to the building mentioned a­bove, there were the Covey and Thomas homes of rock construc­tion. (See Plate 33.) There were several smaller frame buildings which were used for the boys' dormitory and for the Commercial School. The young lady boarders were given Plate 33 The Covey or Thomas home. The room directly under t he oak tre e was the rrru.sic room. lodging in the Covey and Thomas homes. (See Plates 34,35.) These homes had beauti:ful flower gardens and in the re ar, orchards. The campus had a number of shade trees. At the back of the college was a gymnasium court where outdoor games, such as townball, jackstones, rolly-holly, and foot races were played. There was adequate equipment f or those time s. ~'he girls played apart from the boys; also they sat in differ ent sections during classes. Mrs. Bee 'rhomas Coleman, of Fort Worth, Texas, who has been mentioned be fore, related the following facts about her grandfather and his college: Some things that made Dr. Covey a great educator were his disciplinary powers. He was a Greek and Hebrew scholar. He was a man called of God, consecrated; he Plate 34 Plate 35 From available information it appears that the room at the far right in Plate 33 was the girls' dormitory, as it is said to have been exactly opposite on the east of the kit­chen and dining room on the west. Plate 35 shows the in­terior of this room. Plate 34 is the east outside view. loved to help young men and women to attain to high and useful lives. Any young man, when invited to take a walk with Dr. Covey knew at once that he was to get a firm but loving sermone tte. My grandfather Covey was by nature a pioneer, always looking for harder fields to conquer. My mother was tho only daughter of Dr. and Mrs. J.V. E . Covey. Con­crete College was e stablished in 1864 by my grandfa­ther, who was a preacher and educator. ~f'he main build­ing was of hewn stones, but from the banks of the Guad­alupe River. Lumber and all finishing materials were hauled on wagons from Port Lavaca. Prices were very high and financial conditions were in a very unsettled state. There were no banks from which to borrow money. Colonel Stevens and a few other noble friends advanced some money and with prayer, sacrifice, energy, and per­ serverance, the work went forward. In October, 1865, Janie Christie Covey, my mother, was married to Rev. Woodlief Thomas of Austin, who became vice-president and teacher in the college. Other instructors were added. Greek, Latin, He brew, Science, History, and higher mathematics were taught. On the west side of the large crunpus there was added a commercial room where Professor Addison Bonney of New York state taught a busine ss course. Also on the west side of the crun­pus there was a frame building where the primary pupils weI'e taught. On the east side were four or five dormi­ tories for young men. 'l'o the north stood the family residence and a large dormitory for young ladies. Also an immense dining hall, kitchen, and servant quarters. About 1880 the railroad came to De Witt County leaving Concrete nine mile s to the north after Cuero was estab­lished. People began to move to the railroad. We sacrificed our beautiful home and in 1881 went west. Grandpa established a college in Tilden. Here and in La Salle-County (the brush co-..mtry) our family went to the depths because of drought, pov0rty, sickness, and death. Five of us are now living--four sisters and one brother • .My father, Rev. Thomas, was what one would call the soul of honor and truth. He was a fluent speaker and an ex­cellent conversationalist. He had a quick t emper but was quick to apology when in the wrong. He accused Henry, a little negro boy, of misplacing the ham.mer. On find­ing that he was wrong h e said to the little boy, "I beg your p~rdon, Henryt. fere 1 s fifty cents for you. Buy 112 something you wan • 21Correspondence, April, 1942. Concrete College embraced the primary, intermediate, and college departments. In order to have a college there had to be preparatory departments to f'urnish students who would later become students of the real college. After the college had been in operation a few years, a rule was made 22 to take only pupils over twelve years of age. There were varied courses of study such as Business Institute. The pro­gram included book-keeping, actual business, college bank­ing, business arithmetic, penmanship, connnercial law, and business correspondence. The tuition here was $40.00 for the course of study. Dr. Covey was listed as President; Mrs. Covey taught sewing. Mr. Thomas was vice-president and professor of an­cient languages. Professor Bonney taught penmanship. Mrs. Eisenmeyer and Miss Lunn were teachers of the young ladies department. Professor and Mrs. Charles J. Young taught nru.­sic with Professor Otto Fuchs. Other teachers were Miss Janey Covey, afterwards Mrs. Thomas; Miss Janie McKinney, Miss Katie McKinney, and Miss Frankie Conn, who later be­came Mrs. Alex Stevens. In the primary department were Miss Anna Stell, Adelia Deberry, and Mr. R.M.King. Mr. Grothous taught German and J.V. Bradfors taught ancient languages. 22 Wilson: A History of Baptist Educational Efforts, p. 246. 165 J.P. Woolsey was Principal of the Commercial School. Andrew Hueber taught in the business department also. The German nrusic teacher, Professor FlJ.chs, held music classes in the music hall which adjoined Dr. Covey's house. Some of the books that wer e used were Montieth's Geog­raphy, Clark's Grammar, Webster's Blue-back Speller, Davies' System of Mathematics (Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry, Trig­onometry, Conic Sections, and Surveying). The lecture method was employed in the classroom. Ques­tions were asked, and the students wrote and ciphered on the blackboard and slates. Pencils and pen and ink were used 23 for special work. Dr. J.M. Carroll states that in 1873 the school had twelve instructors and two hundred and fifty pupils, over 24 one hundred of them boarders. The conduct was generally good but corporal punishment was use d to some extent. Dr. Covey and Mr. Thomas seldom, if ever, administered corporal punishment. They would keep students in after school and talk kindly with them, endeavoring to appeal to their bet­ter instincts. Mr. J. Frank Dobie related the following story about John Young, one of the students of t he college: 23 Correspondence with J.P.'Noolsey, July, 1940. 24 Carroll: A History of Texas Baptists, p. 418 . 166 When some neighboring boys were planning to go off to a private school at Concrete, I announced that I wanted to go with them. Father replied that he was not able to send me. But I had three saddle horses and ten head of cattle, and vvith the money they brought me, managed to go to school for ten months. At the end of the time I owed the school $50 debt. W.W. Jones was a school fellow. One day Professor Co­vey sent Bill and me to Cuero to get a package. Now a trip to Cuero was a rare treat. We drove Tip, a lazy mule, 25 years old, to a buggy that had no top. We knew that Tip minded the report of a gun. When we got to Cuero we bought a bottle of whiskey, a pocketfUl of cigars, and as many fire crackers as we had money left to pay for. Soon after leaving town, we took a swig and lit up our cigars. Old Tip did not seem any more a:ri...xious to get back home than he had seemed to leave it. But the first fire cracker that exploded under his tail put the energy of a bunch of mustangs into him and from there on until we delivered him to Professor Covey he hit the ground only in high places. When I left Concrete, my formal education was ended.25 Mr. S.F.Orman was born in 1866 in Tennessee. In 1869 his family moved to Texas and settled in Concrete, and Mr. Orman has resided in De Witt County ever since. His father bought a home right across the road from the college in 1870 and Mr. Orman attended the young people's department in the third grade. This gentleman talke d at length of realities and generalities. His interview gives a clear picture of the little settlement of Concrete where he grew up and re­ ceived his first taste of education: My mother and father came to Concrete in 1269. We 25 Dobie: A Vaquero of the Brush Country, pp. 8,9. 16'7 lived four miles south on what is now Dr. White's place on Cuero Creek. The next year we moved to Con­crete. The town was established on the stage route. Here they changed horses and this stage brought mail and passengers, twice daily, at four a.m. and nine p.m. The town consisted of a large two-story hotel owned and run by Isham North, the father of Mr. Jim North who still resides in De \i\ii tt County. There were seven stores. There was a blacksmith shop where shoes were made. The soles were nailed with wooden pegs as nails were scarce. Concrete was a prohibition town. In lat­er years was erected a mule-driven gin. 'I'o get out meal we had to take our corn to an old Dutch wind mill. It only ran when the wind blew. There were no conveniences in those days. Candles were used instead of electric lights. Concrete was the only post office for miles and when the stage arrived you could hear thG bugle blow. There were two church buildings; one was the Presbyter­ian. The Masons built a large two-story building. They used it for lodge purposes above and church purposes below. The Methodists used it also. 1l1his building was moved in the 90 1 s to Hochheim. 'J1he Baptists built in '70. 'l'his was the church the school attended. The Bap­tists benche s were all built by hand. Also the doors and windows. M:y father was a carpenter, and he helped to build some of them. Cattle roamed over the prairies as there was no barbed wire in t hose days. The college was owned by J.V. Covey and Woodlief Thomas. They only had three rooms. In later years, other rooms were added for mathematics and music. J.P. Vvoolsey was employed to teach mathematics and writing. He attended school there before he taught. Mrs. Thomas taught mu­sic. The grade school was opene d da:ily by reading a chapter from the Bible and a prayer by Re v. Covey. He was very strict and did not allow any cursing or drink­ing or smoking. All the pupils loved him and obeyed him. Also Mr. Thomas was l oved. Miss Serey was my teacher. The college had a. large farm and nursery added later where the boys were taught to plant buds and graft fruit and trees and roses. They also learned to farm. There were at times s e venty five boys and girls attending the school with others coming daily from several miles. The borders all had their me als in a large dining room with the girls at one end and t he boys at the other. The boys lived on the campus i n house s built to accomo­date eight boys. The girls lived in a rock building which was occupie d by the Covey and Thomas familie s .The girls wer e taught music by Mrs. Thomas who with Mrs. Covey looked after them. The students wer e happy and enjoyed their school days. To1.im ball was the main sport. On Sunday morning all ·went to church accompanied by t e achers. In June the twenty s e cond to the twenty fifth was exam­ination we ek. Par ents of the boys and girls gathered on the campus to attend exercises and get acq:u.ainted, coming by wagons, buggies and horse back~6 Mr. Orman possesses a l arge iron pot in which t he beans were cooked for the college dining-room. Plat e 36 shows this pot which may be seen at his Yoakum, Texas, r e sidence. Plate 37 shows a leg of a bench made by Mr. Orman's father which was used in the school. It is put together with flat he aded nails be cause the other kind of nail was unheard of at th is time. Some of the early r e sidents in t he Concrete Cormrrunity wer e : Dr. Robert Peebles, Joseph Stevens, Captain Lynch, Dr. Wimbish, Dr. W.W. White, Dr. O.D. Coppedge, J.B. Worth, James Baker, T.R. Taylor, Isham North, W.E.Orman, t he Clay-tons, the Edgars, Ben Milegan, Spear Hudson, Li sh St evens, Henry Stevens, and Dr. King. Names such as the Honorable F.W. Taylor, Dr. Whit e, J.H. Stevens, Dr. Peebles, Colonel 26 Interview, June , 1942 . N.L. Norton, Thomas J. Pilgrim, Dr. Lewis, Dr. P.C. Winn, Charles Kessler, Jason Doughty, and B.W. Baylor are among those who formed a visiting committee to sponsor the school. Student Activities. The following advertisement was run in the Gonzales Inquirer: Concrete College Concrete, Texas Departments Literary, Commercial, and Music Reverend J.V.E. Covey, D.D., President Reverend Woodlief Thomas, A.B., Vice-president The session will commence the second Monday {the tenth) of September. The collegiate year is composed of two sessions, twenty weeks each. No vacations during the scholastic year. Admisaion--The College is open to those who wish to be­come wise and better, and to those who will yield a ready compliance to its regulations. The prominent characteristics of the College are: System, Promptness, on the part of the teachers and pupils, Discipline, kind but decided, and a prevailing moral and religious sentiment. Expenses--Board and Tuition in literary department, washing, lights, per session of five months, one half payable in advance $105. Students will furnish their mattresses, bedding and towels. Commercial Department including Telegraphy for the course $40. Tuition in Music, Piano or Organ, session, $25. Use of instruments $5.27 In the same issue of the Inquirer further notice was given to Concrete College. The excerpt read as follows: 27aonzales Inquirer, Vol. XXV,No. 9, July 28,1877. 170 Among the first class educational institutions which Texas can boast of, there are none more deserving of public favor than Concrete College. Under the direc­tion of its able founder, Reverend J.V.E.Covey, it has acquired a reputation unsurpassed by any other institu­tion in the state, and we are gratified to learn from Dr. Covey that it is now on a permanent basis, and in a flourishing condition. It is l ocated in one of the most beautiful and healthy regions in Western Texas, which, together with the excellent society surrounding is an advantage that mu st recommend it to public favor, to say nothing of the excellent discipline and moral training of the students. Parents will do well to con­sult Dr. Covey's advertisement.28 Before breakfast, weather permitting, the boarding stu­dents took a walk every morning under supervision. After breakfast, all gathered in the College Building at eight o'clock for a devotional period. This consisted of the read­ing of the Scripture, prayer, and song. This service was conducted by Dr. Covey, Mr. Butler Kimball, a student Bap­tist preacher, and by J.P. Woolsey. After this classes were begun. At night the older boarding students gathered in the College Building, and Dr. Covey led in the discussions. Later everyone studied his lessons. A portion of e ach Friday was devoted to examinations to which the public was invited. Usually these exam.inations were oral. The graduation exercises were quite an outstand­ing event, and familie s of the students came from miles a­round. Excellent speakers were secured, and at this time 28 Gonzales Inquirer, July 28, 1877. 171 29 many visitors came to Concrete. Mr . J.P. Woolsey remem­ bered his own graduation. There were t8n or fifteen stu­ dents in his class. Speeches and a program were given. At Commencement time in June a Board of Visitors, made up of twelve men who were considered the most learned in the nearby country, conducted the exa~inations . In 1871 the Board members were: Hon. F.M. Taylor Concrete, Texas ti II Dr. w.w. White J .H.Stevens, Esq . II fl ll II Dr. R. Peebles Col. N.L. Norton Hallettsville, 'rexas T.J. Pilgrim Gonzales, Texas II II E. Lewis II II Dr. P.C. Winn Dr. A.D. Paulus High Hill, Texas II II If Charles A. Kessler James M. Doughty Rockport, Texas 30 II II J.W.Baylor It happens that James N. Smith was a visiting speaker at Concrete College during these times. In Smith's diary there is an accurate account of his having told the follow­ ing one day at the college: Not Long since--When I was Requested by the Teacher to Make some Remarks to the Students--I gave the Students a Lecture on their Deportment and Behaviour and Studies­While In School Also In 'rheir Playful Eours--And as There Had been a Difficulty some Little before with the students about Card Playing-And Two Carne very near 29 These facts were obtained through Mr. J.P. Woolsey who since has passed away. IV:r. Woolsey was unable to recall the names of any of those speakers. 30 Wilson, op.~., p. 245. ( Plate 36 Plats 37 being Expelled--I Lectured them on Piety and Religion also--Told them what My old Irish Teacher used to Learn us to Read and Write when I was a Boy That was "Be Studious And You Will be Wise Be Religious and You Will be Happy" Also I Repeated those Lines of Poetry--That My Grand Mother had Learnt Me when a Boy--on--Playing Cards--The Teacher nor Students had Never Heard them Before--or Had they Hesrd the Rule in My Latin Gramm.ar--about the For­mation of verb supines and Gerunds This Rule Caused the Students to Laugh very nru.ch--31 It is probable that Dr. William Carey Crane was also one of Concrete's distinguished guests. There was a cor­ respondence that existed between Covey and Crane. In 1873 when President Crane of Baylor University was a candidate for the office of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Covey wrote him as follows& You are the one person for the position. Bro. Thomas and self will do all in our power to aid you in the West.32 In 1877 Concrete lost two of its teachers; J.P. Wool­ sey married Miss Bettie Morris who taught in the Primary De­ partment at Concrete for two years. (Plate 38.) Mr. Wool­ sey had proved himself almost indispensable to the college: in the morning he taught in the elementary school and in the afternoon he conducted the commercial class in college. 31 Diary of James N. Smith, Vol. I, P• 48. 32 or. Crane was President of Baylor College when it was located at Old Independence, Texas. Crane's Letters from Concrete, August 21, 1873. 173 Persons far and near, driving their cattle to Kansas to sell would come to Concrete for Mr. Woolsey to figure out their deals. When the Woolseys left Concrete, they established their own school, Diamond Grove Academy, some few miles from Oakland, Texas, in Colorado County. Mr. Woolsey recalled that his salary at Concrete was $75.00. Miss Lulu Kleberg, who resides in Austin, Texas, is the daughter of the Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. She has in her possession an old Bible dated January 15, 1869, which was presented to her father by the Reverend J.V.E. Cove y for su­perior scholarship at Concrete College. After her father left Concrete, the President, Dr. Covey, made up a roll of honor from among the students who attended the college and Mr. Kleberg's name was placed at the head of this roll. The roll of honor hung in the college for many years, but since this time its whereabouts have remained undiscovered. In his chronicle, Judge Kleberg tells the following about his days at Concrete College: But I had an ambition to carve my own destiny and my father, having suffered severely during the war in the loss of property, was unable to help me materially, so I started out to be a merchant. I was promised a place as a clerk in the forwarding and commission business in Galveston, Texas, but before I reached there my employ­er, Mr. Vogt, died of yellow fever. I then proceeded to Indianola. and found employment with Mr. H. Iken. But I soon realized that I lacked the proper training and was determined to take a course in a business school. So I entered Concrete College, my father defraying my expenses for a short time. I knuckled down to my studies with a zeal that arrested the attention of my teachers and placed me at the head of the classes. The faculty, seeing that I was determined to learn and improve my time, offered to educate me at the col­l ege and take my note for my board and tuition. I ac­cepted their kind offer and immediately entered upon a general academic course. After two years I was placed at the head of the roll of honor and received first prize for scholarship and deportment, and was made assistant instructor in the preparatory depart­ment, at the same time pursuing my collegiate course. At this time something occurred that changed my entire course, which I had marked out. An outbreak of insubordination among the students made my position so disagreeable that I left the institu­tion. I shall state here that perhaps never did a teacher have a greater influence over his pupils than did the honored President of Concrete College over me. I speak of my friend, Rev. J.V. Covey. He was a born t eacher and had the happy faculty of awakening in his pupil's mind a lofty a..rnbition to cultivate the mind and build up the character. I soon paid my note to Messrs. Covey and Thomas after leaving them, but I shall never be able to pay them my debt of gratitude.33 Mr. Jim North was born in De Witt County in 1856. (Plate 39.) He lived about a half mile from Concrete Col­ lege, and he and his brothers and sisters walked to school. Many of the students rode horseback and some were boarding students. Mr. North related the following reminiscences: Concrete College was built of rock with solid rock window sills. The building was one long room about 100 feet long with an L. The desks were wooden and acconnnodated two or three students. They were home­made table style with a wooden benoh. The students were all in the same room. There were ten or fif­teen in some of the classes. The Teachers were Par­son Thomas, son-in-law of Mr. Covey, Mr. Barnes, Bill Sutton, Miss Glass, and Mrs. Frank Cone (Kahn or Cohan). 33 Autobiography of ~Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. Plate 39 Mr. .Tim North Prayer was held every morning and ministers came oc­casionally to talk. Concrete was incorporated at t his time and you coul dn't sell whiskey within five miles. It was t he largest town around, having nine stores one of which was a drug store. People traveled by stage and my father kept the stage stand and hotel. When t he railroad came and Cuero was founded, that broke Concrete up. I started in the A.B.C. class and went to school for five years quitting in 1373. Among my classmates were former Congr e ssman Henry Crane and Kirk Lynch. Latin, history, re ading, spelling, arithmetic, connnercial work, speaking, and -~;nglish were taught. Davey's Arithmetic was used, McGuffey's Reader and the Blue Backed Speller. The slate and blackboard were used mostly but the pencil and pen we r e also used. '~'he l e ssons we re hard and the assignments lengthy. 'rhey used the question method, worked at t he blackboard, wrote compositions and had speaking every Friday. Everybody had to speak. I got the prize for declamation. I didn't want to speak but the teachers made me and then the teachers didn't want me to get the prize. Dr. White trained me and my subject was "What is to be the Future of our Magnificent Country?" I got mixed up. I said the first verse, and the last, repeated and ended up in the middle, but no one knew the difference so I got the prize. I could hear Judge Lewis saying behind me that it was too high--too high, but I kept getting higher and higher. It was a poem by Burns. I remember a tableau. Fanny Clark was captured by the Indians. They tied her to a stake and she sang "Home Sweet Home". I've never heard it sung like that. I used to go electioneering with Dr. Covey. We went to Seguin, San Antonio, Sommerset, on down to the Nueces River where we stayed with some Kings. Then to Rockport and St. Mary1 s. Dr. Covey preached everywhere he went. He preached on "The Spirit and the Bride say come" and the parable of the fig tree--11 Cut it down, Cut it down, Why compass it the ground?" Dr. Covey was skinny. When he preached the sweat just rolled off him. When I stayed with him he had a watermelon patch in his back yard. Woolsey and Kleberg said they'd give a million if someone would steal this big melon. I said I would. Woolsey lost his key in the plum patch one night. They paid me to go find it. Mr. Covey used to keep me sitting in the middle of the floor half the time, I was so bad. Before I could read they put me in a spelling class. I could spell half of the words from listening to the others. The teachers were real strict. The pupils said Dr. Covey had eyes in the back of his head. For punish­ment they made the pupils stand and face the wall. Whipping was also favored. Once I whipped the teacher and it took three of them to overcome me. We played town ball, nru.mble peg, and base. The enrollment was between eighty and ninety. We had prayer every morn­ing. One time parson 'rhomas B.nd Boney fought. Thomas called Boney a Yankee and Covey separated them.34 Interview, June, 1942. Mrs. c.rr.Traylor resides in Cuero, 'fexas, and her father, John Wesley Wallis, attended old Concrete Colle ge . Mrs. Tray­ lor has the following interesting facts to contribute: I've heard my father tell many things about that grand old institution, and Mr. Covey and the young men and young la.dies in school, but unfortunately I do not re­call nm.ch of it. Among my father's very few old relics, (he has be en dead six yea.rs), I find his "practice book" required for book-keeping and banking which course he finished at Concrete College. My mother and all my older brothers and sisters remember father had a diploma in penmanship from the school. This particular incident I 1 ve heard my father tell many times and happen to know is true. It seems there was a steeple or tower to the main school building , contain­ing a very large "school bell", just as churches had un­til recent years. One dark night a bunch of Dr. Covey's boys--young men--caught a bull calf and carried him into whatever part of the building necessary to stand in to ring that big bell, when they tied the bull securely, 8nd also fastened the bell rope to young Mr. Bull's horns. It was long after midnight. When Professor Covey heard the wierd, spasmodic ringing of that school bell he ran out in his night shirt and encountered the bull and first hand information together. I can1 t rememb0r what the punishment was--the boys were not expelled and were too old for the good old fashioned hickory licking so common and useful in those days--but I do know it was a punish­ment fully fitted to the crime and they laughed on the other side of their faces and took it heroically. The book awarded my father for the be st de clamation in Concrete ColleWe in 1876 has the following written on the flyle af: 'Presented to ~T .w • Wallis ns tho award of the umpire appointed for that purpose, at the closing of 1875-76, for the best Declamation. Concrete College, June 14th, 1877. Signed J.V.E. Covey, President." The old book is falling to pieces. I can't even open and read it. It is a book of Milton's poems, and contains a complete history of Milton's life . It was published in Edinburgh, Scotland, by William P. Nimmo, 1872. My father and Legrand Covey, son of Mr. Covey, were classmates. They graduated together and died within a month of each other.35 35 Correspondence, February, 1942. Plate 40 Mrs. T.J.Kennedy Mrs. T.J.Kennedy attended Concrete College as a child and remembers these interesting facts which may add to this history: I went to Concrete two terms. My teachers were Miss Izenmer and Miss Duberry, Dr. Covey and Dr. Thomas. They were both Baptist ministers and taught in the school with extra teachers to teach writing and music which was done in separate buildings. The large rock building was separated by recitation benches and black­board. The boys were seated on one side and the girls on the other with desks placed so the backs of the girls and boys faced away from each other. Boys played on one side of the campus and the girls on the other. We had no need for supervisors on the playground. All country children brought their dinner. Most of us walked. Some rode horseback. Other buildings were barracks for boys, and girls had some in the main build­ing with Dr. Covey and family. There was one building for the smallest children and one for writing and music. We did not have programs only at end of the term. We all 179 dressed plainly. The school was the best in the coun­try at that time. Girls and boys came from lonB dis­tances. My books were the blue back speller, McGuf­fey's Reader, and Arithmetic. Most of our work was done on slates and the blackboard. I was only eleven and twelve years old. After that I attended a school near my home that wa2 taught by a Professor Glass and later by Professor Boothe.36 Mrs. Sam Calhoun of Cuero, Texas, was born in 1852 on Deer Creek. She has lived all her life in De Witt County, and she related the following facts: I went one term to Concrete College. Professor Covey was awful strict, and he had a temper. He whipped. Sometimes he would when it wasn't needed. Fortunately I never got whipped. I reckon I ought to have but I never did. Mr. Covey had a nice wife and the teachers were well educated. My father was a farmer and slave owner. I remember our house was a large two-story. Til, the negro mrurnny wouldn't let us do anything at home. Pa would get others in to help in the house. After Mr. Covey quit teaching there he came over and taught on our side of the river at Calhoun school house. So often the river was out. So many children had to cross to get to school so Mr. Covey came over to our side and boarded at our house. Mr. Covey went home with his students at night to see how they were reared. One day I said, 11 Let•s have a concert.11 Mr. Covey asked what we would do, and I said we would have singing. There were some good voices. At school we had tableaus with costumes. It took three days for graduation and every one of those nights we had a concert. One night we danced in the auditorium of the church and they sure got mad a­bout it.Pupils at Concrete made good music. We had vio­lins, flutes, and three pianos most of the time. They sang war songs. John Bronson and Peticola were judges at graduation time of the examinations. Bronson boarded at Beatty•s house. I went to Mrs. Case 1 school in Victoria, too. Miss Emma and Virginia Goodwin taught music here. Miss Angie Lay was my teacher. We had a great big room where we had to go study. Little rooms 36 Interview, June, 1939 were all around this big room. Mrs. Case had so meny girls she asked me to move downstairs. Molly, Kate and Ethel Beatty were my closest friends.37 Of Concrete College Mrs. Ella Partain says: For a number of years the school was conducted in one large rock building--only one room. Later the lower grades were taught in a separate building by Misses Adela Dew Barry and Janie McKinney--fine Christian women. They were my teachers. There was also a fine music department conducted by Dr. Young. While in the rock building there was a long desk or table con­cern across the entire north end of the room where the children sat--not very good but when in separate rooms we had double desks.38 Mrs. T.c. King was born in 1870 on her father's fa.rm near Concrete. She lived in this section of the county until her husband's health failed in 1898. Mrs. King made known these facts about her life in De Witt County during the early years: I was born Christena Clair Batchelor. My father's family were early settlers from North Carolina. He died when I was quite young. My mother was NancyJane Edgar. The Edgars,too, were early settlers in the Concrete Community. My great grandfather Edgar, his wife, and eight sons and two grandchildren, my mother and her sister ca.me to Texas from Tennessee. They settled in the community later known as Edgar. I have heard my mother speak of going to school in Concrete to a Professor Glass. He had one or two as­sistant teachers. I started to school in, I think, 1875 before I was six. At first we were all in the main building, but in a few days the smaller children were moved to a small frame building. our teacher 37 Interview, February, 1942. 38 Correspondence, January, 1942. was a Miss Della Du Berry. I only went to school in Concrete that one year. Then the neighbors built a school house which soon became the center of comnrunity life--a meeting place for church, Sunday school, debating society, etc. Our first teacher was the same Professor Glass who had once taught in Concrete. In 1886 I went to the Cuero Institute taught by Profes­sor Nash. The next summer I took the examination and was given a first grade four years certificate. I was elected assistant teacher to Professor Young in Concrete. There was no school house so we taught in the Methodist Church. I was paid the munificent salary of thirty dol­lars per month, but I had board with one of the best families at only eight dollars per month. At that time there were two churches--Baptist and Methodist, two stores, post office and a blacksmith shop in Concrete. Most of the old families had moved to Cuero, a railroad town. The community was fast becoming a neighborhood of tenant farmers. In 1888 the school board decided Concrete could get a­long with some of the older pupils helping out without pay. So I was employed at a salary of fifty dollars plus tuition of "overs and unders11 --the pupils over or under school age. \Nhen the time came to open school I learned that no school was available as they were re­pairing the Methodist church. Well, I made arrangements to teach in the old college. Some of the windows were out and the building needed repairing. In a few months, though, we moved back to the Methodist church and I finished the school term there. \'Vhen school closed I married James A. King, only living son of Dr. ,Tames E. King, a pioneer of the Concrete community. In 1894 my husband bought the only remaining store in Concrete. I was employed to teach the school. We bought a home. They now had a school house and we did very well financially. When my husband's health failed in 1898, I resigned, we sold our home and the store and moved away. I have never been back; but they offered me the school again after my husband's death.39 Mr. G.H. Woodrome of Yoakum related these reminiscences of Concrete College: 39 Correspondence, April, 1942. 182 Concrete was a wonderi'ul place at the time. Covey was a man of wonderi'ul character. Everyone liked him. I lived at Terryville. Will Jeffries was my teacher for one year and William Edgar another. Jeffries came from Cherokee County. This school was called County Line. It was a box house made of post-oak timber. The logs were cut in the neighborhood, hauled to a sawmill three miles the other side of Terryville, on Little Brushy. Charles Hume owned the sawmill. Old man Hume had a part­ner. Hume threw the hand ax at him one day and killed him but the mill continued. We didn't have graded school. I went through the first to the sixth reader. We studied Parley's Universal History. Our teachers made us stand up on the floor and sometimes they whipped. I never got whipped but I got slapped one day for laughing out in sohool. The boys would get whipped for fighting on the way to and from school. One day our teacher whipped a great big old boy--George Taylor. George swore that if he ever got grown he'd whip Mr. Jeffries. It used to make school boys awi'ul mad to have a fellow ride by and yell school butter at them. One day we caught his horse and ducked this fellow under water. I started a cotton gin in the 801 s. I hired a greenhorn from down east. John Hanks and John Alexander pumped him just i'u.11 about the i'un we had on Saturday nights on snipe hunts. When Yoakum first started my wife lived at Hochheim. The only way you could tell where Yoakum was, was from the smoke from the switch engine as it went by.40 Mrs. John Dewees and her sister Mrs. R. Patton reside in Yoakum, Texas. They are the daughters of Dr. King who was one of De Witt's County's first doctors and a partner of Dr. White. Both Mrs. Dewees and Mrs. Patton attended school in De Witt County and Mrs. Dewees mentioned the following facts which may prove of interest concerning the early days in De Witt County: I rem.ember a May Day party. It was a picnic. We brought a basket dinner and danced around the maypole. We all ate at a long table. I started to Concrete and went until 40 Interview, February, 1942. I went to Goliad. We rode horseback to school. Mr. Orman's father was a carpenter. He made coffins and covered them with black cloth. At commencement we sang songs. I remember "Who'll Buy my Matches". We had commencement in a long stone building and it was crowded. I took nru.sic from Janie Thomas.41 The College Paper. The college had published monthly a little newspaper, the College Independent; however, there seems to be only one issue in existence, that being the first number in the first volume, published in 1371 at Concrete, 42 Texas. (See Plate 41.) In this number there is an in­ troduction giving the purpose of the paper, the standards of the college, and a description of phases of work. Of the Business College it said: This Institution has entered upon the third year of its career. It was first opened to answer the demand of such students attending Concrete College, as wished to pursue a commercial course. our efforts seemed to prove successful, and the number of attendants upon this department rapidly increased; many entered the College for the purpose of pursuing the conunercial course alone, until 1t became necessary to erect another building for the accommodation of this class of students. Feeling justified in the hope that the same diligence which has brought this Institution its present degree of success will sustain it and continue its increas­ing prosperity, we shall endeavor to conduct a business school which shall be worthy of the name, and worthy of a location in its State and among its people. The Business Institute, as distinct in its name, is 41 Interview, June,1942. 42 Covey Papers, University Archives. -~ TH£ COLLEGE INDEPENDENT. /1J:HJT1:11 TO THA' / .\"TELl.b'CTC'A/, l'ROOllL';;.~ llF Ol'R .~TA Tl.'. " A9 You Bow You 8llall .A.lao Bap. • \'OL. 1. CO~CRETE. TEXA.~. ,JllLY I. 1~71. '.' 2 , 080 • 9 6 Amount from State Apportionment 12,476.00 Amount from county school available fund 440.64 Amount from Lavaca County Amount from Gonzales County .Amount from Victoria County Amount from Karnes County Amount from Goliad County Total Receipts Disbursements Balance on hand Aug. 12, TABLE XV 1889 22.00 60.75 60.00 40.20 306.60 $15,489.15 14,812.60 6'76.5532 Amount proportioned according to ulation for 1889 the scholastic pop­ District 1 Cuero Scholastic Pop. 117 Amt. Proportioned $ 530 .50 2 Thomaston 171 ?69. 50 3l Minutes of Commissioners Court, Vol.E, P• 402. 32 Annual Report of Commissioners Court, Aug. 15, 1888. District Scholastic Pop. Amt. Proportioned 3 Terryville 54 $ 250 .40 4 Stratton 89 390.65 5 Tonqua 137 519.70 6 Hochheim 268 1,198.60 7 Concrete 140 630.00 8 Arneckeville 152 684.00 9 Meyersville 124 558.00 10 Clinton 94 423.00 11 Bellview 35 157 .50 12 Shiloh 140 643.20 13 Weldon 101 455.53 14 Garfield 95 427 .50 15 Yorktown 338 1,521.00 16 Oakdale 91 409 .50 Colored 1 Cuero 232 1,082.75 2 Thomaston 55 247 .50 3 Stratton 39 177.40 5 Tonqua 25 112.50 6 Hochheim 158 711.50 7 Concrete 150 695.00 8 Arneckeville 56 252 .oo 10 Clinton 43 229.90 11 Bellview 51 99.00 12 Shiloh 22 270.0033 TABLE XVI The Prorata according to the number of pupils for 1889 Name No. of Pupils Amt. each By prorata of Total $5.00@ pupils 1 Cuero Institute 243 $1,345.50 266 $1,330.00 2 3 English German Roseville 93 26 534.75 149 .50 43 26 215.00 130.00 4 Burns Station 22 126.50 20 100.00 5 Thomaston 54 310.50 32 160.00 6 '7 8 9 Terryville Tonkaway County Line Crossonville 47 32 40 45 270.25 184.00 230.00 258.75 53 33 38 65 265.00 165.00 190.50 335.00 10 Cuero Creek 42 241.50 27 135.00 11 Concrete 28 161.00 46 230.00 12 Round Mote 25 143.75 20 100.00 13 Hochheim 88 506 .oo 94 470.00 14 Clinton 23 132 .25 24 120.00 15 Five Mile 22 100.00 16 Arneckeville 94 540 .so 77 385.00 :5~From an old Ledger. (Table XVI continued.) 17 Old Meyersville 34 195.50 36 180.00 18 Covey 19 109.25 21 105.00 19 Golley 38 218 .50 36 180.00 20 Lower Meyersville 36 207.00 34 170.00 21 Upper Meyersville 35 201.25 37 185.00 22 Twelve Mile 36 207.00 33 165.00 23 Oakdale 12 69.00 16 80.00 24 Panther Creek 18 103.00 15 75.00 25 Yorktown 229 1,316.75 195 975.00 26 Salt Creek 23 132.25 29 145.00 27 Polish 41 235.75 44 220.00 28 Sandles 32 184.00 27 135.00 29 Shiloh 32 184.00 30 150.00 30 Rhodes Ranch 7 40.25 23 115.00 31 Bellview 24 138.00 24 120.00 32 De Moss (Blue Mote) 12 69.00 9 45.00 33 Hugoheim 32 184.00 26 130.00 34 Callahan 11 63.25 48 240.00 35 Prairie Hill 18 103.50 18 103.00 36 Cabase 34 195.50 21 105.00 37 Heinze 18 103.50 20 100.00 55 St. Joseph 114 655.50 120 600.00 56 Bunting Spring 12 69.00 16 80.00 57 Chicolete 57 19 95.00 Yorktown Town School 44 44.00 State prorata $514.80 Colored 38 Cuero 114 655.50 118 590.00 39 Lockhart 82 471.50 70 350 .oo 40 Schleicherville 83 471.25 62 310.00 41 Sandy Fork 32 184.00 40 200.00 42 Westville 56 322 .00 43 215.00 43 Thomaston 37 212.75 41 205.00 44 Ebenezer 37 212.73 47 235.00 45 Hopkinsville 39 224.25 42 220.00 46 Big Brushy 47 Lower Concrete 76 48 437.00 276.00 75 64 375.00 320.00 48 Evergreen 49 Upper Concrete 50 Clinton 33 39 45 189.75 224.25 258.25 43 27 33 215.00 105.00 165.00 51 New Hope 52 Yorktown 33 32 189.75 184.00 40 34 200.00 170.00 53 Tonkaway 54 Union 12 102 69.00 586.50 8 98 40.00 490.00 57 Sandles 15 86.25 12 60.00 220 TABLE XVII The Prorata by Schools and Districts for 1892 Districts No. of pupils Amt .each e:;;'. prorata of 'l'otal :jji5.00 each 1 Cuero Institute 45 $270.00 264 $1,478.00 2 English German(Lindenau) 26 156.00 181 1,013.603 Roseville 33 198.00 22 123.20 4 Burns Station 20 120.00 16 89.60 5 Thomaston 60 360.00 39 218.40 6 Terryville 40 240.00 44 246.40 7 Tonqua 45 270.00 32 179.20 8 County Line 50 300.00 66 369.60 9 Crossonville 49 294.00 62 347.20 10 Edgar 52 312.00 40 229.60 11 Concrete 60 360.00 20 112.00 12 Morris 51 306.00 28 156.80 13 Hochheim 60 360.00 84 470.40 14 Five Mile 27 162.00 31 173.60 15 Arneckeville 74 444.00 77 431.20 16 Old Meyersville 36 216.00 36 201.60 17 Covey 1 5 90.00 23 128.80 18 Golley 51 306.00 38 212.80 19 Lower Meyersville 31 186.00 32 179.20 20 Upper Meyersville 42 252.00 48 268 .so 21 Twelve Mile 36 216.00 25 140.00 22 Oakdale 25 150 .oo 25 140.00 23 Panther Creek 15 90 .00 11 61.70 24 Yorktown 136 1,116.00 195 1,092.00 25 Clear Creek 53 318.00 36 201.60 26 Polish 50 300.00 33 184.80 27 San.dies 31 186.00 37 207 .20 28 Shiloh 67 402 .00 46 257.60 29 Rhodes Ranch Disorganized 6 33.60 30 Stratton 29 175.00 21 117.60 31 Blue Mott 16 96.00 10 56.00 32 Hu goheim(Hochheim Pr airie)68 408. 00 45 252 .oo 33 Callahan · Disorganized 40 224.00 34 Prairie Hill 28 168 .00 ~~o 112.00 35 Cabeza 24 144.00 36 201.20 36 Heinze 25 150.00 24 134.40 37 St. Joseph 69 386.40 38 Chicolete 23 13B.OO 21 117.60 ;39 Cue1~0 Creek Did not organize 16 89.60 40 Edward's Creek 28 168 . 00 ~'.2 123.20 41 Garfield 20 120 .00 1 5 34.00 (Table XVIcontinued.) Colored Districts No. of pupils Amt .each By prorate of Total qi;5 .00 each 50 Cuero School Failed to organize 151 845.60 51 Lockhart 69 414.00 67 375.20 52 Schleicherville 39 234 .00 49 274.40 53 Sandy Fork 33 198.00 33 184.80 54 Westville 50 300.00 51 285.60 55 Thomaston 49 294.00 48 268.80 56 Ebenezer 18 108.00 32 179.20 57 Hopkinsville 41 246.00 38 212.80 58 Big Brushy 34 204.00 64 358 .40 59 Lower Concrete 67 402.00 71 397.60 60 Evergreen 40 240 . 00 44 246.40 61 Upper Concrete 45 270 .00 24 134.40 62 Clinton 47 282.00 46 257.60 63 Yorktown 53 318.00 47 263.20 64 Union 119 666.40 65 Sandies 14 84.00 13 72.80 66 Mipion Valley (Province Hill) 67 New Hope 68 Tonqua. 69 Mt Olivet 9 22 12 1892 54.00 132.00 72.00 11 25 10 21 61.60 140.00 56 .00 126.00 70 Leesville 1892 18 108.00 In 1893 the Texas Legislature approved the division of the county into school districts. 'l'he Commissioners Court met in August,1893, with the section 40 of the 23rd. Leg­islature in mind, and defined the school boundaries with the following names: District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 District 6 District 7 District 8 District 9 Cuero Thomaston 'f erryville Stratton 'fonqua Hochheim Concret e Arneckeville Meyersville District 10 Clinton District 11 Bellview District 12 Shiloh District 13 Weldon District 14 Garfield District 15 Yorktown District 16 Oakdale34 Some of the names found among the applicants for teach- i ng positions in De Witt County schools are : Appl icants Ora Wood F.W. Grass Margarette Dogle Applicant s Mrs . A.A. Harper Rachel Tennell Matilda McCallick S. J:I'. Huff Henry Ebert Helen Reid Katie Clark M.B. Brown Josie Berryman i n 1893 i n 1895 Eliza Day J.M. Kuehne A. M. Co ats D.L. Camer on August Paul Anni e Hoch W. B. Moor e W.J. Hale 34 Minutes of Commissioners Court, Vol .E_, August 14, 1893, PP • 470-484. Applicants in 1897 A.B. Erb N.O. Griggs D.p. Spivey H.H. Johnson J.E. Brown Mrs. J.K. Betts Samson Hopkins J.F. Peck Miss E. Holzapfel William .MosleyMiss Lulu Brown J.R. King W.R. Bryant J.M. Deloney Florence Kitchens Celina Kin§ C.W. James H.G. Kiehl 5 Tables XVI and XVII show a list of the teachers for 1898,1899, and 1905. TABLE XVIII Teachers for 1898-1899 Alexander, Willie Cuero Burns, O.J. • Brewer, Prof. E. Thomaston Brewer, Mrs. M.E. " Boetcher, O.F. Yorktown Boal, J .L. " Burnett, J.R. " Buck, J.C. " Bronson, Miss Jessie Meyersville Coats, A.M. Robke Crawford, Miss M. Yorktown Cameron, D.L. Yoakum Cameron, O.M. Stratton Carroll, D.R. Terryville Deloney, J.M. Cuero Erb, A.B. Yorktown Evans, Miss Lulu Oheapside Gerhardt, Miss E. Yorktown Gladden, Thomas Arneckeville Granberry, John Cuero Granberry, Miss Laura Hoohheim Glumaz, Miss Nellie Meyersville Hedyra, L. Cuero Hayden, Miss L. Nope.l Hopkins, Sampson Stratton Jaeggli, J.T. Yoakum Colston, Prof. T.M. Cuero 35 County Superintendent School Record. King, Margaret Kyle, Fannie Knig, Mrs. J.A. Langly, Geo. Love, Mrs. C.F. Lightfoot, L.w. Martin, T.J. Moffet, Chas. Nolan, Miss Adaline Nolan, Miss Mary Nau, Miss. H. Pflug, Miss F. Perryman, Miss J. Parr, J.E. Riedsel, .Miss s. Rohre, Mias M. Squires, Miss M. Schmidt, Prof. Otto Schmidt, F.G. Spivey, D.P. Teas, W.A. Thompson, Miss H. Wallace, Miss Katie White, Pattie Colored Cox, Miss Senelia Gates, S.H. Griggs, E.J. Henderson, Nellie Harper, A.A. Jameson, Virginia James, G.W• Johnson, Julia Kitchens, Florence LeGender, J.v. Lockett, J.R. Moore, W.B. Moseley, W.B• Meadow, L.E. Prince, G.L. Parish, E.L. Tippens, Salvan Stafford, J.T. Foster, Cristina Henry, K. King, Nancy Cuero Thomaston Concrete Yorktown Edgar Nordheim Cuero Runge Yorktown Cuero Yorktown Meyersville Cuero Yoakum Yorktown Hochheim Stratton Yorktown Hoohheim Terryville Nopal Hochheim Cuero Yoakum Cuero Yoakum Cuero Yorktown Yoakum Yoakum Cuero 'rhomaston Cuero Cuero Concrete Cuero Edgar Yorktown Cuero Cuero Yoakum Cuero Yoakum Thomaston Cuero Norwood, G.E. Morris, R.E. Broner, N.c. White, L. Austin, W.A. Grant, Jason Daule, E.A. Grigg, C.H. Parrish, L.M. Moore, V.L. Berry, Ida Isaacs, C.P. Perpener, Bessie Asberry, John White, Maggie White, Sophia. Teachers for 1905 Name Miss A. Bagby Miss L. Browning Will Brady Carrie Bomba Josie Bomba John c. Buck L.G. Covey Miss E. Calhoun Miss Florence Chess J. Wm. Carroll D.R. Carroll William Crisp Miss F. Dahlman J.M. DeloneyMiss Meta Eberhardt Miss Lena Ebner w.s. Fleming Miss Anne Ferguson Lenora Fudge Josephine Francis A.W. Fitzgerald Alvine Fuess Martha Gertsmann From an Old Ledger. Yorktown Yorktown Cuero Yoakum Yoakum Yoakum Cuero Cuero Cuero Cuero Cuero Terryville CU.ere Yoakum Yoakum Yoakuzn36 School Cuero Crossonville Meyersville Meyersville Gohlke Colley Cuero Cuero Coleto Thomaston Tonqua Tonqua Roseville Yorktown County Line County Line Cuero Thomaston Cuero Cuero Cuero Guilford Five Mile Lula Galle T.A. Gullitt Sallie Hamblen Zurna Hartfueld Li na Hardt Mamie K. Henry Emilie Holzapfel Clyde W. Hill Alfreda Hardt Nora Hartmann Jenni e Kennedy George Langley Emma Lee Latt Annie Suhrsen Minnie Lucas Marquis Louis Nora McMaster Vida Mcintire Georgia May Amanda McCoy Louis Ivioffeld H.G. Onkin Janie Peavy Bell Reed Maude Reed Rosalie Riedel John Morgan Blanche Smith Adolph Schark H.B. Simpson W.L. Schorlemer H.O. Schwab Otto Schmidt F .R. Shanks 'fully Ema.ls Gu sta Timm A.S. West Maggie Weaver W.H. Zuch 'r.E. Zedler L.c. Mentzler Olivia Nunez Yorktown Yorktown Cuero Cuero Me tting Cuero Cuero Cuero Meyersville Yorktown No pal Weldon Cuero Clinton Wallace Ranch Garfield Bear Creek Cabe za Prairie Hill Clear Creek Stratton Prairie View Cuero Callahan Green DeVVitt Yorktown Arneckevil le Chicolete Llndenau Lone 'l'r ee Lost Cr eek Panther Creek Yorkt own Morris Buchel Edgar Cabeza Arneckevil le Nordl,eim Nordheim Nordheim Friedl and Col ored John Asberry Yoakum Berry Bealy Wallace Branch Cuero Col or ed Schoolw.c. Brown Ida Berry Nordheim A.B. Caviel Sobleicherville W.P. Caviel Hochheim E.T. Daule CUero N.B. Edwards Concrete Felix Lillie Leesville C.H. Griggs Cuero W.A. Graves Yorktown A.E. Henderson Schleicherville H.H. Johnson Westville Cora Kenney Thomaston Cora Bellfield Thomaston H.B. Kenny Yoakum J.R. Lockett Lockhart R.L. Moore Pleasantville Mrs. B.R. Moore Hopkinsville A.R. Parrish Stratton L.H. Swenney Terryville M.L. Smith Lockhart J.W. Sheff'ield Evergreen M.B. Veal Sandies E.W. White Big Brushy-UnionMrs. Eva White Province Hill Mrs. Katie White Clinton T.E. Wethers Cuero 37 TABLE XIX Teachers' Salaries 1894-1895 1 Cuero Miss Etta McRae $40.00 6 months Miss Carrie Kilgore 35.00 6 " 2. Thomaston Mrs. A.W. Willbanks 55.00 8 II Alvira Bates 25.00 4 " 3 Chicolete Jassie McManus 33.00 5 " O.F. McMaster 30.00 l II 4 Terryville Dora Granberry 40.00 6 " 5 Stratton Alice Alexander 40.00 5 " Kate Wallace 40.00 5 ti 6 Tonqua Kate Clark 35.00 5 II A.C. McClown 45.00 4 II J.s. Garrett 37 From an Old Ledger. ? Hochheim J.w. Schwab 40 . 00 4 months 3 Hochheim Prairie II Miss M. Reider 45. 00 8 Mor r is II 50.00 7 E.W. Poth 9 Concrete Mrs. Jason King 50 .00 5 II 10 Edgar No. 2 II R.L. Bagkin 50 . 00 6 11 Ar neekeville W.J. Hale 50.0U 7 II Maurine Clegg 40 . 00 6 II 12 Meyersville II Ad. Schack so.oo 6 11 Margaret Dogle 50.00 4-& 13 Clinton II A.M. Coats 35.00 7 Miss E. Holzapfel 3 5. 00 3IT " 14 Bellview B. Busby 25. 00 15 Shiloh Gus Buch 45. 00 6 " J.M. Kuehne 50.00 6 II 16 Weldon J.M. Deloney 40.00 5 II R.J. Palasek 50.00 5 II 17 Garfield J ohn Stolze 55 . 30 4 II P.C. Howard 40 .00 3 II M. B. Crow 35.00 3 " 18 Yorktown 50 . 00 3 II HI Oakdale 420 •• 3 11 TABLE xx 'l'eachers' Salaries 1895 Months 1 Cuero Miss Eliza Day .;;32.00 6 2 Sandy Forks Miss N.C. Brown 30 . 00 6 '" Lockhart . James 40 .00 6 O · G.W4 Schleicherville N.S. Whitfield 40.00 6 2 Thomaston Miss Rosalie Grant 45 .00 4 4 Stratton Pat Johnson 38 . 90 4 5 Tonqua 30 . 00 5 6 Hochheim J. White 45 .00 6 Mr. Olivet 45.00 7 7 Concrete F' .W. Grass 50 . 00 5 Lower Concrete G.L. Price 50.00 5 ( Table XX continued.) Months Edgar Julia Johnson 50.00 4 8 Arneckeville 46.00 5 10 Clinton 40.00 6 11 Bellview 25.00 6 12 Shiloh Valentine Battles 30.00 3 15 Yorktown Lewis Midow 45.00 6 'l'ABLE XX! Teachers' Salaries 1896 1 Roseville Julian Duggle 42.00 6 2 Buchel Ora Wood 40.00 6 3 Thomaston D.L. Cameron 60.00 9 C.M. Cameron 20.00 7 Mattie Power 20.00 r; 4 Blue Mott Matilda Squires 25.00 3 5 Chicolete Maurine Clegg 35.00 6 6 Lindenau R. Paul 50.00 8 7 Shiloh Jason Buch 45.00 7 8 Golley C.M. Leadbetter 50.00 4 9 Arneekeville W.J. Hale 50.00 6 Irma Golle 30.00 6 10 Five Mile Lula Evans 30.00 5 11 Clinton Mrs. L. Hewett 35.00 4 12 Upper Meyersville Matilda McCallick 50.00 5 13 Coleto A.M. Coats 46.00 8 14 Oakdale E.J. Wild 38.00 3 15 Yorktown Max Bernstein A.B. Erb Otto Schmidt 16 Polish Ethel Howard 41 .25 8 17 Heinze F.C. Engelking 40.00 2 18 Panther Creek E.B. Poth 43.00 3 19 Cabeza P.c. Howard 39 .00 5 20 Garfield Louis Rtuzer 3b.OO 7 21 Clear Creek J.M. Deloney 50.00 6 22 Weldon Geo. Longley 49 .00 7 23 Wallis Ranch F. Hodges 25.00 5 2LJ: Bellview Laura Kant 3S.OO 6 25 Hochheim J.E. Brown 40.00 7 26 Concrete Mrs. Jason King 50.00 8 27 Hochheim Prairie Minnie Relder 50.00 7 Ettie Coppedge 30.00 5 28 Morris Henry Ebert b0.00 6 29 Edgar P.B. Petercon 50.00 6 30 Crossonville Josie Perryman 40.00 4 31 Stratton Kate Wallace 40.00 5 (Table XXI continued.) Months 32 County Line Annie Hoch ~,1;44.oo 5 33 'ronqua Dora Granberry 40.00 6 34 Old Terryville J.L. Garrett 40.00 5 35 Prairie Hill Mae Middlebrook 35.00 5 36 Burns Station Maggie Callaway 35.00 4 37 Salt Creek 20.00 1 38 Meyersville Ad. Schack 40.00 8 39 Sandies Emma Tully 40.00 2 Colored 1 Schleicherville W.B. Moore 50.00 6 Celestia Moore 25.00 6 2 Westville Eliza D. 40.00 6 3 Sandy Forks Virginia White 40.00 5 4 Lockhart G.W. James 50.00 6 5 Thomaston Julia Johnson 40.00 '7 6 Upper Concrete James ---45.00 4 7 Pleasanton G.L. Prince 65.00 5 8 Evergreen A.A. Harper 60.00 6 9 Ebenezer Pat Johnson 38.00 3 10 Leesville S.F. Hoff 40.00 3 11 Mt. Olivet S.E. Tippens 40.00 4 12 Tonqua G.K. Lavender 33.'75 4 13 Province Hill R.H. Norwood 50.00 6 14 Big Brushy Rachel Eumills 40.00 4 15 Hopkinsville J.B. Whitby 45.00 6 16 Yorktown Lewis Meadow 40.00 6 17 Panther Creek Louis Meadow 40.00 3 18 Clinton H.M. Whitby 45.00 4 19 New Hope 'I'.W. Wyatt 30.00 4 20 Sandies E.L. Parrish 35.00 3 TABLE XXII Teachers• Salaries 1S96-lf39'7 1 Roseville Miss Willie Alexander 4:5.00 6 2 Buchel A.M. Coats 40.00 6 3 Thomaston E.c. Haskell 45.00 8 L.L. Haskell 45.00 8 4 Blue Mott Horace Cobb 28.00 3 5 Chicolete Isabell Adkins 40.00 5 6 Lindenau 'l'homas North 56.25 8 '7 Shiloh Jason Buch 45.00 7 8 Golley Nora Hartmann :so.oo '7 9 Arneckeville w.J. Hale b0.00 '7 10 1',ive Mile Lula Evans 35.00 5 11 Clinton D.L. Cameron 50.00 5 (Table XXIIcontinued.) Months 12 Upper Meyersville Matilda. McCallick ;iii50 .oo 8 13 Coleta T.C. Hedges 45.00 6 14 Oakdale M.N. 'l'aylor 35.00 3 15 Yorktown Miss Nau 30.00 5 Prof. Boa.ls 75.00 5 Prof. Erb 55.00 5 Prof. Schmidt 55.00 5 16 Polish Lenora Buchanan 50 .00 6 17 Heinzeville Mattie Hodges 30.00 4 18 Panther Creek 31.50 1 19 Cabeza. Jennie Albertson 45.00 5 20 Garfield Louis Reitzer 39.00 8 21 Clear Creek J.M. Deloney 50.00 4 22 Weldon George Langley 10.00 7 23 Wallis Ranch Lida Hewett 30.00 4 24 Bellview Laura Kent 31.50 4 25 Hochheim T.A. Partlow 40.00 6 26 Concrete Mrs . Jas. King 50.00 7 27 Hochheim Prairie Minnie Reider 50.00 6 Pattie White 30.00 5 28 Edgar George Beason 50 .00 5 29 Morris Henry Ebert 42.00 6 30 Crossonville Laura Kent 40 .00 5 31 Stratton Kate Wallace 40.00 5 32 County Line Maggie Humphreys 37.00 6 33 'l'onqua Matilda Squires 40.00 6 34 Old Terryville D.R. Carroll 40.00 6 35 Prairie Hill Nora Stevens 30.00 4 36 Ollman B.F. Neumann 30.00 4 37 Salt Creek Maggie Coleman 40.00 5 38 Meyersville G.W. Kanarsky 40.00 3 39 Sandies G.M. Cameron 33.00 3 40 Garrett Alma Woodson 25 . 00 2 41 Nordheim T.W . Lightfoot 3b.OO 4 42 Lonetree F. Schmidt 35.00 5 Colored 1 Schleicherville W.B. Moore 50.00 6 Celestia Moore 25.00 6 Florence Kitchens 25.00 6 2 Westville Eliza Day 40.00 4 3 Sandy Fork Ida Mack 36.75 6 4 Lockhart G. W. James 60.00 5 5 Thomaston Julla Johnson 40.00 6 6 Upper Concrete J.R. Lockett 50 . 00 5 Crossonville G.L . Prince 62.00 5 7 8 Evergreen A.A. Harper 6?.50 4 (Table XX!bontinued.) Months 9 Ebenezer Pat Johnson $39.00 a 10 Leesville A.A. Harper 54.00 2 11 Mt. Olivet s.c. Tippens 35.00 5 12 Tonqua 13 Province Hill S .H. Gates 70.00 5 14 Big Brushy Rachel Fennell 39.00 4 15 Hopkinsville J.B. Wilby 45.00 6 16 Yorktown L. Meadow 45.00 4 17 Butter Creek Nellie Henderson 33.75 4 18 Clinton J.V. LeGender 40.00 4 19 New Hope E.L. Parrish 28.50 3 20 Sandies Ida Beny 30.00 5 38 The County School Board of Education for De Witt County met in regular session as determined by law for the purposes of organization August 7, 1911. There were present Edwin Egg, C.G. Smith, and W.W. McCormick. Judge Kleberg and Superintendent Covey explained the duties and scope of the County School Board. On August 28, 1911, the following clas­ sification of schools was made: TABLE XXIII District 1 Cheapaide High School of 3 olass 2 Valley View Intermediate ~ Westhoff High School--3 class 4 Guilford Intermediate 5 Nopal Intermediate 6 Davy Intermediate 7 Weldon Interme diate 8 Lost Creek Intermediate 9 Freedland Intermediate 10 Garfield Intermediate 11 Cabeza High Sohool--3 class 12 Gohlke High School--~ class 13 Callahan High School--3 class 14 Clinton High School-~~ class Five Mile High School--3 class 3S County Superintendent School Re cord. (TableXXILia.ontinuad} J.o ·1·ayior 1ranch 16 Heinzeville 17 Oakdale Twelve Mile 18 Arneckeville Golley 19 Green DeWitt 20 Meyersville 21 Hochheim Martine (Mexican) 22 Hochheim Prairie Prairie View 23 Lone Tree 24 Morris 25 Prairie Hill 26 Concrete 27 Center 28 Edgar 29 County Line 30 Bu.chel 31 Crossonville 32 Shiloh 33 Bear Creek 34 Roseville 35 Chicolete 36 Lander 37 Thomaston 38 Lindenau 39 Clear Creek 40 Nordheim 41 Wallis Ranch 42 Metting 43 Upper Meyersville 44 Tonqua Colored 1 Peebles Farm 2 Westoff 3 Schleicherville 14 Clinton 18 Hopkinsville 21 Hochheim 24 Big Brushy 25 Province Hill 26 Concrete 27 Evergreen 28 Pleasantville 29 Terryville High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class High School--3 class Primary Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Primary Primary Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate High School--3 class Intermediate Intermediate High School--3 class Intermediate Primary Intermediate Intermediate Primary Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Intermediate Hi gh School--3 class Intermediate Intermediate High School--3 class Intermediate 30 Lockhart Intermediate 31 Ebenezer 32 Leesville Pri mary Intermediate 34 Westville Intermediate 37 Thomaston Intermediate 40 Nordheim Primary39 It was also ordered by the Boar d that in the case of schools which were classified as high schools of the third class, the high schools nru.st meet the requirements of the rural High School Law by employing one teacher holding a valid certificate of the first grade as instructor in said high school, and in case the trustees of said high school failed in this regulation, each of the high schools thus failing should drop in classification to the Intermediate rank. The State Course of Study prepared by the State De­partment was adopted as the official course of study for De Witt County for the year 1911-1912. It was further agreed by the Board that whenever the County Superintendent was officially notified by the Depart­ment of Education of the State prorata that the County Super­intendent should apportion the money derived from the State and County available funds to the respective districts of the county as directed by law. The Rural School Problem IAlring the Period from 1884 to 1910. The greatest progress in education took place in 39 Minutes of the County School Board. 235 40 the cities and towns. There was a sharp contrast which existed between the town schools and the rural schools from the standpoint of supervision, teacher training and salaries, length of term, and scholastic population. The town schools were able to maintain better trained teachers with more com­pensation: in the town schools $8.35 for each scholastic was expended for education, while in the rural schools only $4.97 was received. The country schools were under the management of nonprofessional officers such as the ex-of­ ficio county judges; and the town schools were better or­ganized and supervised according to the standards of the 41 time. The education of many is entrusted to our rural schools, which, as a rule, are poorly equipped. It is not necessary that a school be a wealthy one before it can provide a well­ba.lanced program of studies. The purpose of education is to train people to do better the things they will do any­way. One of the objectives of the National Education As­sociation is the worthy use of leisure time. There are a few subjects which equip one for spending his leisure time, such as clubs, music, and athletics. 40 Eby: 2,£• cit. P• 206. 41 ~., pp.216,217. We have gone far beyond the stage where the three R's are sufficient, and it now takes all the letters in the alphabet and then some to include within the cur­riculum all the types of training and experience desir­able for all the children of all the people.42 Among the rural school standards set by Mr.W.F. Hancock, County Superintendent of De Witt County Schools, are the following: 1. Each school to have a library. 2. All students who live over two and one half miles from school should receive free transportation to and from school. 3. Auditoriums and gymnasiums should be provided if possible. 4. Each school should develop a program of extra-cur­ricula activities. 5. More personal interest should be given to the students. 6. Better buildings and equipment should be provided. 7. Higher salaries should be paid the rural teachers. 8. More better trained teachers should be employed. 9. Lengthen the term of school. 10. Raise the classification of the schools.43 Many rural teachers feel that they are handicapped by having too many grades. However, if these teachers will look around in their communities, many significant things may be found which can be used in classroom teaching. The principle of 11 We learn by doing" is a good motto. The chil­ dren vie with one another in supplying samples of seeds, rocks, and in studying trees, birds, and flowers. The aim of these activities is to better acquaint the child with 42 Texas Outlook, June, 1939. 43 Interview, July, 1938. 237 his own environment, to teach appreciation of the uae.fulness and beauty of nature, and to create a desire to conserve our 44 natural resources. In connection with a music program Mr. Hancock says: Every school should have a music program. A harmonica band, rhythm band and group singing may prove success­.full. These phases provide entertainment at community gatherings. Besides offering pleasure to the students who participate, a band or chorus teaches the essentials of music such as sight reading, time, and note values.45 In the past the schools of the county have overcome the failures and con.fusion which have beset them. The re­source.ful writer on today's schools in De Witt County will rely upon the correct and informative records on which rests a well developed system of education. This is no attempt to go into the later stages of development of education in De Witt County, but a word con­cerning recent movements may be worthwhile. In Cuero, the County Seat, a Home Demonstration Agent has been employed, and clubs have been organized in all the rural districts in the county. The women of the county have been instructed in the processes of canning, interior decorating, and sewing. A county agent with headquarters in Cuero is ever ready to help those who need his services. An accurate record is 44 Interview, July, 1938. 45 Interview, July, 1938. kept of the number of persons given the Shick test, the number vaccinated and inoculated for diptheria and typhoid. Indeed it is true that "Texas must look to the county superintendents to be leaders of educational sentiment and 46 endeavor." 46 Eby: The Development of Education in Texas, P• 312. APPENDIX A JAMES KERR From 1825 to 1832 James Kerr•s house was the headquar­ters of Americanism in Southwest Texas. Austin's colony on one side and De Witt's and De Leon's on the other grew slow­ly, and in all that time Kerr stood as a wise counsellor to the people. When the quasi-revolution of 1832 occurred, he was elected a delegate to that deliberative body--the first that ever assembled in Texas--at San Felipe, October 1,1832, and he was on several of its committees. James Kerr was elected to the third convention, or Gen­eral Consultation, which met at San Felipe on November 3, 1835, and formed a provisional gove.rnment, with Henry Smith as Governor, and with a Legislative Council. On the first of February, 1836, Kerr was elected to the convention which declared the independence of Texas, but his name is not appended to the document because the approach of the Mexican Army compelled him to flee east with his family and neighbors, and rendered it impossible for him to reach Washington in time to participate in the framing of the Dec­laration of Independence. Returning to his desolated home after the battle of San Jacinto, Kerr stood as a pillar of strength in the organiza­tion of the country under the Republic. It may be truly 239 said that no man in the western half of Texas from 1825 to 1840, especially during the stormy period of the Revolution, exerted a great.er influence for good as a wise, conservative counsellor. His sound judgment, tried experience, fine in­telligence, and candor, fitted him in a rare degree for such a field of use:fulness. In 1838 Kerr was elected to the last Congress that as­sembled at Houston and was the author of several of the wisest laws Texas ever enacted. He was the first pioneer of the Southwest.l 1 Brown: Indian~~ Pioneers of Texas, P• 139. APPENDIX B Monclova, 15 of April,1835 To the People of Gonzales: This day has been one of pride to Monclova and importance to the state of Coahuila and Texas. Last night Don A· Viesca arrived in the place and at two o'clock today was installed as constitutional governor of the state. The ceremony was very interesting. The governor elect ac­companied by the Gefe Politics of the place and the Ayuntamiento of this department walked in procession to the Hall of Congress where he read his inaugural discourse previous to which he took the oath according to the forms prescribed by the constitution. Thence proceeded to the church and concluded by receiving his friends at his house. the foreigners in this place are numerous and were all present on this occasion and to whom the governor seemed to pay particular attention. from intelligence received today from the commandant general of the Troops of the Northern States of this Republic there is no doubt that the disturbances which have so long distracted this district will be immediately put at rest. By letters received today this individual states that he will support the existing order of things in every respect, will lend his aid in person and influence to secure and continue the peace and security of the state. I conclude by enclosing you a copy (translation} of the Governor's address whioh I am sure will gratify every lover of genuine liberty and with sincerest wishes for your welfare and happiness I remain Very Sincerely Your Friend and servant G.D.W. 242 APPENDIX C Monclova April 25,1835 Dear Son and families: As there is an express expected to leave this place to­morrow for Gonzales, on the business of the unfortunate Mrs. Gregi who is sent solely at the expense of a few North American friends, the business of which you will fully learn from the enclosed directions to J.C. Davis. I wrote you by the last Texas mail which I hope you have received, information that I had obtained five sitios of land to be located on any vacant lands in the state of Coahuila and Texas, solely to the use and benefit of my children which I wished you to select and have sur­veyed as soon as practicable because there will be a great deal of land located so soon as this Congress shall rise. I also stated to you that all the people in De Witt•s colony would be put in proportion to their proper­ty quantities of land who had not received titles and situation of which now stands thus. A petition was drawn up by Capt. Johnson who carefully consulted the views of all whoever are residents in Texas--or however of all whose names stand on the petition as follows: B.R. Milam, G.DeWitt, R. Peeble, F.W. Johnson, and Seth Williams which sets forth every power and clear reasons for the purpose of putting the people in possession of their lands All those persons who have not received titles and have not contracted with any Empresario or agent of any colony which now exists and that the Department of Brazos and Nacogdoches should be laid in to three Districts, one composed of DeWitt•s old colony, one of the District of Nacogdoches, and one for Red River. It was presented to Congress and there signed by our two Texas members ~ and • It has undergone two readings and will be read agaii10n Monday 27 and I think pass without much altera­tion if any. James c. Davis will be appointed commission­er for the District of DeWitt•s colony without doubt and to deed the five leagues of land granted us by law and the office will be very profitable in many respects as the settler will have to pay as a government fee perhaps $50 and that may be made a prompt payment and many will need help. I shall remain here until the law finally passes and until I get the commissioner's which is the main thing with me now. I have lived with Mr. Williams and co. ever since we arrived and I have found all to be gentlemen and have been active in my interest. I am at 243 this time nearly out or money and shall have to borrow from my companions some $40 or $bO which I want you and Mr. Davis to be prepared to settle for me when we arrive. have lived as saving as any decent man could do and my money could be made go no further. Of this however you will not regret, for you will be paid a thousand fold. The Congress do business very slowly and have not done a great deal. The regular troops were ordered to this place by Gen. Cos to stop the setting of Congress and the militia of Saltillo were to cooperate with them. But Marshel Borego the then acting governor issued a positive order forbidding them to enter under the pen­alty of being fired upon and treated as enemies. They stopt nine miles out of town and the next day fell back about nine miles fUrther and remained until Monclova raised a volunteer company of about 150 men among whom was myself and all the Americans in town and all of the mem­bers of Congress. Also two other company were sent in, one from Sauloroso and the different little neighboring town; after which Gen. Cos withdrew his threats and de­clared he wanted no fUrther interference. Also 44 of his troops were permitted to enter who are here now, and the militia also and will be continued during the session which will remain all next month at least. The time is too short to write to all, and as the letter to our Davis is only on the subject of Mrs. Gregi I intend this for you all and therefore I send my respects and best wishes to all without name or distinction and to all my old friends in Gonzales. I think I shall leave here in about ten days if I have good luck. There is one thing that I want you and my wife particular­ly to attend to, for my sake. I have promised the gentle­men who send on this express, that himself and horse shall remain at my house free of all cost while he should be de­tained which will not exceed three or four days and please to attend to it. Remember me particularly to your mother I remain your affectionate father, Green DeWitt. 244 APPENDIX D SARAH SEELY DE WITT Sarah Seely was born in Brooks County, Va., in 1789. Descending from parents who witnessed the events of the American Revolution, she imbibed ideas of patriotism and independence, and it is not surprising afterward to find her united with Col. DeWitt, whose characteristics were enterprise, adventure and love of liberty. In the year 1826 she, with five children, arrived from Missouri and shared with him the hardships incident to the founding of this Texas colony. After a brief sojourn at the Old Station at the mouth of the Lavaca River, they removed to the site of Gonzales, where he erected the first block-house for protection from Indians. At the time of her marriage she was possessed of consid­erable property in her own right, all of which was placed in her husband's hands for the carrying out of his enter­prise. Partly, at least, for this reason we find the government in 1831 granting her personally, "for herself and her heirs forever," a league of land. This was in addition to the lands granted to Col. DeWitt as head of the the colony, nor was such favor shown to any other woman. This grant was made in her maiden name and the Sarah Seely league still figures in the real estate transactions of Gonzales county. It was upon this land, directly across the river from Gonzales, that she made her home and reared her children. In a time when hospitality was general it was doubly in­ cumbent on the wife of the Empresario, nor did she ever fail in this duty and privilege. A traveler in the coun­ try, writing in 1827, speaks of Mrs. DeWitt as "a most excellent lady, kind and hospitable to strangers." Yet this hospitality must adjust itself to her scruples. A woman of deep religious convictions and an old school Presbyterian, no hot food was ever prepared in her home on the Sabbath. The guest might be sure that an abundant meal would be set before him, but if it were Sunday he could be equally sure that it would be cold. As the events leading to the Texas Revolution began to shape themselves, Col. DeWitt went to Mexico to arrange his business with the Governor of the Department. Here he died, at Monclova, in 1835, leaving his widow to be both mother and father to her family during the trying times to follow. On one occasion, when the approach of Mexican soldiers was announced, she took her children in a boat up the Guadalupe and San Marcos Rivers and camped in the woods for days, until the danger of attack had passed. At the time of the Runaway Scrape she, like the mothers widowed at the Alamo, marshalled her family and what few belongings were possible, and fled by the light of her burning home. Her influence and responsibility were not confined to her own family. A woman of superior education and attainments, her judg­ment was nmch relied upon, and she was consulted on all occasions and looked up to as the mother of the colony. When the Mexican authorities demanded the little cannon at Gonzales and were ref'used, the settlement realized that it meant war, and immediately organized a company of soldiers, of whom Albert c. Martin was captain. Mrs. DeWitt designed and assisted by her daughters made a flag for this company. It bore on a white field a black can­non in the center, and above and below were the words, "Come and Take It." This flag was made of the white silk wedding dress of her daughter Naomi, who in 1833 had mar­ried W.A. Matthews. This was the first Texas flag ever made, and it was carried in the battle of Gonzales, the first battle of the Texas Revolution. Later, when this same company went to the support of Travis at the Alamo, this flag was carried by them and it perished there, with the brave men who bore it. As this company departed on its last mission after march­ing from the town they went to the home of Mrs. DeWitt and stopped there before proceeding to San Antonio. Her son Columbus, a boy of fourteen, insisted on accompany­ing them, saying that he could both ride and shoot as well as any man. Seeing the boy's determination, the mother gave a sign of understanding to Lieut. Kimble, who was in command. He told the lad to go for his horse, which was a considerable distance away. As soon as he 246 was gone the company took a speedy departure and was far away before young DeWitt returned. In March of 1836, General Sam Houston came to Gonzales, where he organized his army and chose the star as of­ ficial seal. He stayed in the home of Mrs. Plumber. Mrs. DeWitt was called in consultation with him over the af'­ fairs of the colony and here she and Gen. Houston together designed the first flag of the Republic, a red field bear­ ing a white lone star. Houston then drew the sketch, Mrs. Plumber furnished a red skirt as the ground, and she and Mrs. DeWitt made it together. This was the flag carried at the Battle of San Jacinto. After these troubled times Mrs. DeWitt l.ived for many years, loved and honored by the community. She witnessed the successive changes which the infant Republic under­ went from a department of Mexico to an independent sov­ ereignty, and from the latter to one of the States of the American Union. She lived to see all her children reared and married, Eliza to Thomas Hardeman, Naomi to W.A. Matthews, Evaline to Charles Mason, later secretary of State of the Republic, c.c. to Narcissa Barrow, Clinton to Elizabeth Frazier, and Minerva to Isham G. Jones. After her death, which took place on the 28th of November, 1854, her body was placed on a sled drawn by oxen and car­ried to a hilltop not far from her home, and part of her own grant of land. Hers was the first body laid in this spot, which became the DeWitt burying ground, and where successive generations of her descendants have been laid to rest. No woman who ever lived at Gonzales was more truly a part of its history, or meant more to it--than Sarah Seely DeWitt. This sketch of Mrs. Sarah Seely DeWitt was furnished the Gonzales Inquirer by Mrs. W.F. Robertson, past regent of the Thomas Shelton chapter, D.A.R. of Gonzales, Mrs. Robert­ son having prepared it in response to a call from the state connnittee D.A.R., who are compiling a history of the pioneer women of Texas. 247 APPENDIX E MRS. SARAH AM BRACHES Died at her home on Peach Creek near Gonzales 1894. Was one of the last survivors of the colonists who came to Texas in 1831. Her parents were John and Mary Askby of Kentucky. She was married to Judge Bartlett McClure in Kentucky in 1828. Judge and Mrs. MoClure established themselves on Peach Creek in De Witt Colony. There were only twenty-five families in Gonzales when they first visited that place. At this time (1831) the Comanches, Lipans, and Tonkawas were friendly, but the Waco Indians, hostile and giving the settlers much trouble. In September the people of Gonzales gave a dinner to about 100 Comanches. These friendly relations were ter­minated a year later when some French Traders from New Orleans who were passing through the country gave poisoned bread to the Comanches. For many years thereafter, the country was subject to raids. Prior to the falling of the Alamo, people were fleeing from Gonzales in dread of Santa Anna. Twenty­seven women whose husbands were in the Alamo stopped at her house and were there when they received news of the massacre. General Houston also stopped at her house on his second day's retreat. Her experience concerning the Indians was in­deed hair-raising but valorous. Her bravery exceeded that of the carpenter who was working on her house at the time the Indians came and killed some calves. The carpenter was soared pale and couldn't shoot, but Mrs. McClure stayed on the ground floor of the house and fought. Judge McClure died in 1842, and in 1843 Mrs. McClure married Charles Braches, who was born in Prussia and sailed from Europe in 1834. "A braver or grander-hearted woman never trod the soil of Texas." To her belongs the glory of a Roman matron and the halo of a tender Christian mother. Brownsindian Wars and Pioneers of Texas, P• 246. 249 APPENDIX F MILES SQUIER BENNET By Adele Loosca.n His father was Major Valentine Bennet, and his mother, Mary Kibbe. They lived near Buffalo, N.Y. when in 1818 Miles was born; soon afterward the family emigrated to Louisiana, his mother died and his father took him to Cincinnati, where he remained until 1838, when, with his father, who had be­come a colonist in Texas, he went to the Lone Star State. As a member of D.W. Colony, his father was one of those brave men who in 1835 made Gonzales famous for her defiant attitude toward Mexican aggression. His name is recorded as one of the "old 18 Defenders of Gonzales". In 1848 Miles s. Bennet settled in De Witt County, making his home on the head.right given him by his father, a place long known as the Valenmirk home, so called in honor of his father's name, Valentine. In 1843 he married Miss Bathsheba Gibson. In their pleasant country home they lived together fifty-eight years. Eight children survived them. They are Sam D., Robert M., Valentine, Dudley, Marie, Mrs. J.R. Wofford of Cuero, Mrs. G.M. Walker of Gonzales County, and Miss Annie Bennet. At the breaking out of war between the States, Miles s. Bennet enlisted in Capt. Cook's regiment. Throughout a long life of more than 65 years in Texas, 250 he was ardently interested in his country's welfare. As a member of the Presbyterian Church, he attended the Texas Pres­byterian in 1851 at Victoria, and attended nearly every meet­ ing held since; he was present at the semi-centennial at Vic­ toria in 1901. As a member of the Texas Veteran Association since its organization, a meeting never oeourred without the presence of himself and wife. Gifted with fine mental faculties and an unfading memory, the leisure moments of his later life were employed in writing events of Texas history. (April 1899) Quarterly Texas State Historical Association, Vol.VII, P• 166-168. 2fil APPENDIX G ADOLPH MEYER In 1845 Adolph Meyer and his two sisters, Mariana and Julianna, took a sail boat to America. They set sail on the 9th of September from Germany and landed Dec. 4, 1845 in Gal­veston, after nearly a three month voyage. From Galveston they traveled overland to Indianola Point, which was later called Powder Horn Indianola. Shortly after their arrival in America the little sister Julianna died. Upon her death Adolph Meyer and Mariana moved to Coleto Creek in De Witt County, on May 28, 1846. Meyer was the first man to settle in this vicinity, hence the community was named Meyersville. Adolph Meyer married Meta Fredricks of Indianola August 19, 1854. He was post-master at Meyersville for many years. During the Civil War he was a Government teamster on the highway to Brownsville, Texas. He received his papers on the 19th of August in 1862. Mrs. Meyer and one of Mr. Meyer's sisters took care of the Post Office until Mrs. Meyer was made post-mistress in 1866. In 1848 Mr. Meyer sent for his father, John George Meyer, one sister, and his brother Wil­liam, and they arrived from Hanover, Germany, in December of the same year. Adolph Meyer sent a petition to the post-master general in Washington for a mail route from Cuero to Mayersville and to Goliad. The petition was granted the following year, November, 1866. A st~e coach was running from Cuero to Meyersville and on to Goliad carrying mail and also passen­gers. A stop was necessary at Meyersville for the purpose ot changing horses as the trip was made in one day. Mr. Meyer was born in Hanover, Germany, April 13,1813, and died October 14, 1899. APPENDIX H GUSTAVE SCHLEICHER Gustave Schleicher played a most prominent part in the early history of De Witt County and South Texas. A German of fine family and education, a man of high hopes and ideals, he became a leader in the movement to establish colonies for the people of the fatherland in the wilds of Texas during the decade of the 40's, and in the late 80's established the city of Cuero. In 1859 Mr. Schleicher was elected senator from Bexar County and served in that capacity until 1861 when he entered the Confederate Army in the Engineering Corps with the rank of Major. He served throughout the war in the Gray ranks. In 1852 he became interested, in association with Gen­eral Joseph E. Johnson, in establishing a railroad line from Cuero to Indianola. The line was a branch of the San Antonio and Gulf Railroad. Twenty years later, in 1872, he built this road as a representative of the Morgan interests, extending it as far as Cuero, and it afterwards continued to San Antonio. It was on the route of this railroad that he founded the city of Cuero of which he became one of the first citizens in point of time and prominence. He was president of the Cuero Land and Immigration Company. Cuero Record, Oct. 28, 1936. APPENDIX I JOHN YORK John York was a gallant pioneer whose name was familiar in every cabin in the land. He was born in Kentucky on July 4, 1800. Captain York commanded a company at the storming and capture of Bexar, Dec. 5 to 10, 1835, and for this ser­vice he was, on July 11, 1838, issued Donation Certificate No. 447 for 640 acres of land. In January he was issued a Bounty Certificate for 320 acres of land for having served in the army from Oct. ? to Dec. 15,1835. In October,1840, Lipan Indians from Coahuila, Mexico, entered Texas to plunder, steal and murder. To repel them, a company of volunteers was raised in De Witt County of which Captain York was placed in command and Richard Chisholm e­lected lieutenant. In a fight on the banks of the Escondids Creek, in Karnes County 15 miles west of Yorktown, on October 10, Capt. York, his son-in-law, Jam.es M. Bell, and Jam.es Sykes were killed. The remains of Capt York and Mr. Bell were buried in a single, hand-made coffin in the York family ceme­tery about eight miles from Yorktown. Captain York was married to Lutitia Cain. Children of Captain York, all of whom are deceased, were Miriam, Jonathan, Jam.es Allison, William Griffin, John Pettus, Thomas, Sarah Jane, Elvira, Adaline, and Robert York. Miriam York married Jam.es Bell. William Griffin York was killed on the border by Mexicans. He was never married. John Pettus York was killed in Tennessee while a soldier in the Confederate Army. Sarah Jane York was married to a Mr. Taylor. Mrs. Elerige Dobie, Cotulla, is a descendant. Elvira York was married to Lemuel s. Warren. .Af'ter his death, she married Mr. Peyton. Adeline York married Dave Brown. (This sketch was prepared by Mr. Lou Kemp of Houston, and was obtained from Mr. Paul Schmidt of Yorktown, Texas.) APPENDIX J To a generous and discerning public The undersigned, having located himself in Gonzales, Rio Guadalupe--a site at once beautiful in its situation and salubrious in its climate, increasing progressively in magnitude by the influx of a steady, persevering, and substantial yeomanry. Holding the axiom to be self­evident, that a man's dignity arises in proportion to his usefulness; he has therefore erected a suitable building and furnished it with a view towards the benefit of a young and rising generation. By carefully consult­ing theoretically, as well as practically, the most ap­proved methods of conveying instruction to youth not only in Europe, but in both Americas--The teacher is encouraged to say, that he has matured a system of education, which affords great facility to the learner, especially when he receives his patrons weighty support, towards the lay­ing of that foundation which is so necessary to the erect­ing of a fabric, that should be as extensive as it is designed to be grand and noble. The discipline of the school will be supported by persuasion, principally mild and parental; degrading punishment shall never be awarded those which may be inflicted, always tempered by kind and salutary admonition. The refinements of polished life will be particularly attended to, and the strictest regard paid to comfort, healthy and moral government. The funda­mental principals of religion will opportunely be incul­cated. The routine of instruction embraces the rudiments of an English education; to wit:­ Branches and terms Orthography, Orthoepy, and reading, $1 ~er month,good trade Writing, composition,and definition,$1,i cash--t trade Arithmetic, elocution, and grammar $1.50,1/3 cash,2/3 trade Astronomy, modern and ancient geography, $2, t cash,t trade Cronology, general and particular history $2.50,2/3cash, t trade Ethicks, natural and moral philosoph1 $3 Belles Lettres, rhetoric, and logic $4 It will be expected that the parents and guardians of attending pupils will provide them with every equipment necessary for supporting them in that class wherein they may desire them to be instructed as the tutor will not be anaerable for their progress who are unprovided; nor for those who are not punctual in their attendance. Attending hours from 8-12, morning and from 2-6 p.m. Absent time deduct:ed. Writers will be supplied with copper plate copies in variety. Orphans and persons in indigent circumstances may receive tuition gratui­tously. The sexes will sit apart from each other, and the ladies will always enter and retire by themselves. Motto Conduct, not person, creates distinction. D.B. Edward PreceptorLate principal of the Academy, Alexandria, Lousiana October 1, 1830. Pupils can be accomodated with boarding in the house of very respectable families on easy and modest terms. APPENDIX K Judge Rudolph Kleberg had a full life. A glimpse at his accomplishments is evidence of this fact. In 1869 he accepted a position as teacher of a private school at Colum­bus, Texas, but the great overflow of this year almost de­stroyed the town and he was forced to give up his school, which had grown to be quite large and successful. He then re­turned home and announced his candidacy for District Clerk. He was elected but was counted out under reconstruction method. He then went to Yorktown as a teacher of a public school and afterwards a private school. He studied law in the meantime af'ter school hours. D.lring the summer vacation of 1872, he went to San Antonio, and after a two months pre­paration in the law office of Portis and Altgelt was admitted to the bar before Judge Noonan, Judge Thomas H. Devine being chairman of the bar committee which examined him. Returning to Yorktown he reopened his private school, and on the 29th. day of September, 1872, he married Miss Mathilde E. Eckhardt. The romance of their marriage consists in the fact that his wife, when yet a small child of three or four years, used to meet him on the old Eckhardt farm when he went there on Saturdays to take flute lessons from Mr. Meyer. In 1876, Mr. Kleberg abandoned the newspaper business and entered more exclusively upon the practice of law and was shortly af'terwards elected county attorney, Mr. Grimes, his old law partner having been elected district attorney. Mr. Kleberg's practice soon became lucrative and he desired to give up the county attorneyship, but he was re-elected and re-appointed several times, until he ret'used finally on account of his growing practice to longer qualify. Early in the year 1882 he formed a law partnership with the Honor­able W.H. Crain and in the fall of the year he was elected State Senator ot the 24th. Senatorial District for a long term. While yet serving as senator he was appointed United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas in the fall of 1885, and served until the spring of 1889, when he was re­moved by the Republican Administration because he was a Dem­ocrat. As state senator he was instrumental with others in building up the University of Texas, and the public school system of Texas; in supporting reforms in the jury system-­especially the clause which provides that a juror shall not be disqualified from jury service because he has heard or read about the case, if he can, regardless of such hearsay, render an impartial verdict. Mr. Kleberg was chairman of the joint connnittee which purchased the Alamo, and he was chiefly instrumental in getting the appropriation with which was erected the Fannin Monument at Goliad, Texas. He voted twice against submitting a constitutional amendment for state prohibition. He defended the stock raisers and land owners of West Texas against the enactment of unconstitutional legislation at'fecting their property, such as the gate and lane law, and had the satisfaction ten years afterwards to take the first case arising under this law to the higher courts and having it declared unconstitutional. He advocated the school system tax for the education of colored children in the public schools, and opposed all sumptuary and class legislation, and was bitterly assailed by the sectarian press. Speaking of his activity as a citizen of Cuero, Judge Kleberg was one of the few who were instrumental in restor­ing law and order in De Witt County, in moving the County Seat to Cuero, in the establishment of the oil mill and other local enterprises. In the spring of 1898 Kleberg voted for the war with Spain and delivered a short speech. He spoke at different times on such varied topics as the money question, Interstate Commerce, the Puerto Rican Tariff, the Trust Question, and the Phillipine Question. Judge Kleberg resumed the practice of law in 1903 at Cuero. He delivered Democratic speeches in German in the Congressional campaign of 1904 in Fayette, Lavaca, and Gon­zales Counties. All of the foregoing facts were taken from the Auto­biography of the Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. APPENDIX L ANNIE ELIZABETH MURPHREE Annie Elizabeth Murphree was born on Mill Creek, Wash­ington County, December 19, 1846. Most of her childhood and her girlhood was spent at Clinton. She was staying at her Uncle Tom Murphree•s and going to school on Cuero Creek in the spring of 1855. Later she attended Mrs. Viola Case's school at Victoria, while still a pupil, she aided Mrs. Case in the teaching work. Her first regular teaching was at Calhoun Community School. This school, also used as a church on Sundays, was quite a factor in the early development of worthwhile principles of De Witt County's civilization. Judge C.A. Sunmer•s mother taught there for a number of years. Later Miss Murphree taught at Clinton, the Guadalupe Academy, and tor twenty years at Port Lavaca. She was a natural born teacher, loved the work, and her pupils were devoted to her. She joined the Clinton Presbyterian Church in 1863, and was a consecrated, active Christian for 74 years. She was seldom absent from her pew in church, taught a Sunday School class up to within a few months of her death, and was very active in the auxiliary and missionary societies. She loved young people and ever retained an abiding hope and confidence in them. Somehow, even at the age ot 90, Annie herself was so young at heart that she had never grown old. During her long life she knew few sick days, lived on the sunny side of life and with her poetry, nmsic and laughter she scattered sun­shine to nmltitudes of others. She contracted erysipelas, and on March 24, 1937, at her Cuero East Live Oak home, there was a speedy and peace:f'ul departure to the lands be­yond. 263 APPENDIX M REVEREND WOODLIEF THOMAS The Reverend Wood.lief Thomas was born in Williamson County, Tennessee, October 5, 1828. Among the youngest of twelve children, he and his twin brother were but small youngsters when their father died. He was reared by a heroic Christian mother, Mrs. Eliza Bass Thomas. Graduating from Wise College, Tennessee, and from Union University in 1854-­where he took a theological course--he also spent a year at Georgetown, Kentucky. Reverend Thamas' first labor in Texas was as pastor of the First Baptist Clnl.rcb in Austin from 1857 to 1860. He was General and Mrs. Sam Houston's pastor when Texas seceded. And be was elected chaplain of the first volunteer company of Austin--the 18th. Texas Cavalry. He asked to serve his beloved Southland as a common soldier, so he ministered and preached to the boys at opportune times and also carried his gun into the thick of the fight. In 1865 he married Miss Jane Christie Covey, only child of Dr. and Mrs. J.V.E. Covey. Seven children were born to them, three sons and four daughters. Five are now living. Covey, the oldest son, died November, 1930, and Atha, the youngest son, died June, 1937. For sixteen years Reverend Thomas was vice-president and teacher of mathematics at Concrete College. He represented De Witt County in the Legislature in 1879. His last years were spent in McMullen, Medina, and LaSalle Counties. He died at Cotulla, Texas, May, 1888. He was buried by the LaSalle Masonic Lodge. :Dlring his last illness he often spoke of himself as a soldier of the cross. Even in his last moments he blessed the name of God for all his benefits, holding family worship within four hours of his death. He read at this time the following passage: For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. B I B L I 0 G R A P H Y PRIMARY SOURCES Interviews Mrs. Tip Alexander, Cuero, Texas, February, 1942. Mrs. Claude Blackwell, Hochheim, Texas, June, 1939. Mr. J.W. Boothe, Gonzales, Texas, November, 1940. Mrs. Otto Buchal, Cuero, Texas, June, 1939. Mrs. Sam Calhoun, Cuero, Texas, February, 1942. Mr. Will Coppedge, Hochheim, Texas, June, 1939. Mrs. L.G. Covey, Cuero, Texas, June, 1942. Mr. Jack Hays Day, Corpus Christi, Texas, March, 1942. Mrs. John Dewees, Yoakum, Texas, June, 1942. Mr. M.G. Eckhardt, Yorktown, Texas, June, 1939. Mrs. M.G. Eckhardt, Yorktown, Texas, June, 1939. Mrs. Henry Edgar, Cuero, Texas, February, 1942. Mrs. Catherine Gohmert, Yorktown, Texas, June, 1939. Mr. W.F. Hancock, Cuero, Texas, June, 1940. Miss Carol Hoff, descendant of the pioneer Kleberg family, Yorktown, Texas, June, 1939. Mr. Gene Humphrey, Yoakum, Texas, July, 1940. Mrs. T.J. Kennedy, Cuero, Texas, June, 1939. Miss Lulu Kleberg, Yorktown, Texas, June, 1939. Rev. W.A. McLeod, Presbyterian minister at Cuero, Texas, June, . 1939 • 265 Mr. Jim Morrow, Yoakum, Texas, February, 1942. Mr. Jim North, Yoakum, Texas, June, 1942. Mr. S.F. Orman, Yoakum, Texas, June, 1942. Mrs. Patton, Yoakum, Texas, June, 1942. Captain Rudd, former Texas Ranger, Yorktown, Texas, June, 1939. Mr. Paul Schmidt, Yorktown Chamber of Commerce, June, 1939. Mr. G.H. Woodrome, Yoakum, Texas, February, 1942. Correspondence Miss Nannie Ray Baker, Yoakum, Texas, November, 1940. Mrs. Ross Boothe, Gonzales, Texas, November, 1940. Mrs. J.W. Calhoun, Victoria, Texas, January, 1942. Mrs. B. Thomas Coleman, Ft. Worth, Texas, April, 1942. Miss Nora Fudge, Cuero, Texas, February, 1942. Mrs. T.c. King, Ft. Worth, Texas, April, 1942. Miss Lulu Kleberg, Austin, Texas, November, 1941. Mr. Leslie Lenz, Shreveport, Louisiana, January, 1942. Rev. W.A. McLeod, Cuero, Texas, September, 1942. Mr. Albert Meyer, Weesatch, Texas, January, 1942. Mrs. H.B. Montgomery, Austin, Texas, April, 1942. Miss Nell Murphree, Thomaston, Texas, January, 1942. Mr. C.M. Myers, Fulshear, Texas, February, 1942. Mr. Neal Nash, San Antonio, Texas, February, 1942. Mrs. Ella Partain, Cuero, Texas, January, 1942. Mrs. Bettie Peavy, Cuero, Texas, January, 1942. Mr. Paul Schmidt, Yorktown, Texas, December, 1941. Mr. Daniel Smith, San Marcos, Texas, March, 1942. Mrs. Tom Stell, Cuero, Texas, January, 1942. Mrs. C.T. Traylor, CUero, Texas, February, 1942. Mr. J.P. Woolsey, Beaumont, Texas, July, 1940. Newspapers Cuero Record, October 24, 1923; December 31, 1935; October 28, 1936. Cuero, Texas. Cuero ~' no date available. Cuero, Texas. Concrete Independent, Vol. 1, 1871. Concrete, Texas. Frontier Times, September, 1938. Bandera, Texas Gonzales Inquirer, July 2, 1853; August 27, 1853; September 3, 1853; November 5, 1853; November 26, 1853; December 3, 1853; July 28, 1877. Gonzales, Texas San Antonio Ledger, September 3, 1853. Southwestern Index, January 19, 1873. Gonzales, Texas. Telegraph ~Texas Register. Texas Gazette, November 7, 1829; November 21, 1830. San Felipe de Austin, Texas. Records De ~County Deed Records, Volumes F, K, and o. Headrights, General Land Office, Austin, Texas. Minutes of~ Witt County Commissioners Court, 1846,1847, 1870, 1885, 1888. 268 Minutes of !!:!! Countz Clerk,De Witt County, 1858,1884. Minutes £!. De Witt County School Board, August 28, 1911. Revised ~and Brand Book, General Land Office, Austin,Texas. School Record, De Witt County Superintendent's Office, 1884. surveyors Records, Office of De Witt County Surveyor, Volume I, Spanish Grants. Reports Agriculture, Sixteenth Census of ~United States, 1940, United States Government Printing Office, Washington,D.C., 1941. Report of Ex-officio State Superintendent of Public Schools. General Statistics of Public Free Schools for School Year - September 1, 1873 to August 31, 1874. Financial Statement,as reported by County Judges, and Mayors, August 31, 1877. Joint Connnittee on Curriculum, 11 The Changing Curriculum," D. Appleton Century Company, New York, London, 1937. Ninth Census of the United States, 1874. Sixteenth Census of the United States, Second Series, Texas. Report of Receipts, Disbursements and Balances on hand August, 1877, August, 1878. Report of School Affairs for Year Ending August 1878, August ~, August, 1880. Scholastic Statistics, 1877. Scholastic Population of ~ Witt County, 1879. School Census Report, 1874. Report ~State Superintendent .2f Public Sohools, 1871,1872. State Comptroller•~ Report of Public Accounts of the State of Texas, 1941, Part II. Von Boeckmann-Jones Company, Austin, Texas. Treasurer•~ Reports, 1853-1862, Book 6; 1862-1867, Book 2. Manuscripts Autobiography of the Honorable Rudolph Kleberg. "Concrete College," Elinor Clair Corsen, written for the Centennial Program, 1936. "Concrete College,11 Julia Covey Sutherland. "Church Notes," R.J. Adcock. A paper given at the Methodist Church, CUero, Texas, April 21, 1940. "History of Thomaston Presbyterian Church, 1880 to 1939," Nell Murphree. A paper given at the Merging Program, July 9, 1939. "Life of Annie Elizabeth Murphree," Nell Murphree. Notes of Mr. L.G. Covey. "Professor D.W. Nash," c.T. Nash. Scrapbook of Mrs. J.W. Calhoun. "Settlement of Yorktown," Honorable Rudolph Kleberg, 1898. "Thomaston School Districts," J.C. Murphree. Archives of the University of Texas Covey Papers. Saltillo Archives. Diary of James N. Smith,Volumes I, II, III, IV. Copied from the original and donated by Thomas c. Smith, Waco, Texas, 1936. Crane, William Carey, Letters: Covey to Crane, August 21, 1873. Key to Crane, August 18, 1876. Cross to Crane, May 10, 1878. Kiefer to Crane, March 3, 1878. Pace to Crane, 1886. Morley to Crane, 1878. Howard to Crane, January 28, 1880. Archives of State Library Memorial Folders of Green De Witt, and De Witt County, Numbers 31, 108, and 167. Miscelaneous Guadalupe Academy Catalog, 1903-1904. "Notes of J.C. Murphree," Railroad Guide, July, 1873. SECONDARY SOURCES Books Austin Papers, Volumes I,II,III, Annual Report of the American Historical Association. Washington, D.c., United States Government Printing Office, 1928. Baker, D.w.c., A Texas Scrap-~. New York, Chicago, and New Orleans, A.S. Barnes and Company, 1875. Barker, Eugene c., Readings in Texas History, Dallas, Texas, Southwest Press, 1929. Biesele, R.L., The History ot the German Settlements,~­1861. Austin, Texas, Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1930. Bracht, Victor, Texas in ~· Translated from German by C.F. Schmidt. San Antonio, Texas, Naylor Printing Company, 1931. Brooks, Mrs. V.L., History of the First Baptist Church, Austin, Texas. Austin, Texas, no known publisher,1923. Brown, John Henry, Indian Wars and Pioneers of Texas. Austin, Texas, L.E. Danielle, Publisher, 1890. Carroll, J.M., A History of Texas Baptista. Dallas, Texas, Baptist Standard Publishing Company, 1923. Day, Jack Hays, The Sutton-Taylor ~· San Antonio, Texas, Sid Murray and Sons, Printers, Copyrighted 1937. Dewees, William B., Letters from,!!! Early Settler in Texas. Compiled by Cara Cardella. Louisville, Kentucky, 1853. Dobie, J. Frank, A Vaquero of the Brush Country. Dallas, Texas, Southwest Press, 1929. Dworaczyk, Rev. Edward J., The First Polish Colonies of America in Texas. San Antonio, Texas, Naylor Company, 1936. Eby, Frederick, Education in Texas: Source Materials. Austin, Texas, University of Texas Bulletin No.1824, April 25, 1913. Eby, Frederick, The Development of Education in Texas. New York, The McMillan Company, 1925. Fulmore, Z.T., The History and Geography of Texas ~ Told in County Names. Austin, Texas, E.L. Steck Company, 1915. Gammel'~ Laws of Texas, Volumes VII and XIV, Austin, Texas, The Gammel Book Company, 1898. Hatcher, Mattie Austin, Letters from An Early American Traveler 1784-1846. Dallas, Texas, Southwest Press, 1933. Holley, Mary Austin, Texas. Austin, Texas, E.L. Steck Com­pany, 1935. Holley, Mary Austin, Letters. Dallas, Texas, Southwest Press, 1933. Hudson, Estelle, Czech Pioneers in the Southwest. Dallas, Texas, Southwest Press, 1934. Johnson, Francis White, A History £f Texas and Texans. Brought up to date by Eugene c. Barker, Chicago and New York, American Historical Society, 1914. Pennybacker, Mrs. Anna J., History £f Texas. Austin, Texas, Mrs. Percy Pennybacker, Publisher, 1900. Pennybacker, Mrs. Anna J., ~History of Texas. Palestine, Texas, Percy Pennybacker, Publisher, 1895. Red, William Stuart, The History of the Presbyterian Church !.!! Texas. Austin, Texas, E.L. Steck Company, 1936. Red, William Stuart, Texas Colonists ~Religion. Austin, Texas, E.L. Shattles, Publisher, 1924. Rose, Victor, Some Historical Facts in Regard to ~ Settlement of Victoria County. Laredo, Texas, Daily Times Print, 1883. Smithwick, Noah, The Evolution of ~State. Austin, Texas, E.L. Steck Company, 1935. Sowell, A.J., !arly Texans and Indian Fighters of the South­west. San Antonio, Texas, B.C. Jones and Company,1900. Tiling, Moritz, History of the German Element in Texas 1820­~·Houston, Texas, Rein and Son, Publisher, 1913. Texas Almanac, Dallas, Texas, E.J. Storm Printing Company, 1941-1942. Wooten, D.G., A Comprehensive History of Texas. Dallas, Texas, William G. Scarff, Publisher, 1898. Magazine Articles Barker, Eugene c., "Minutes of the Ayuntamiento of San Felipe de Austin, 1828-1832," Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXI, XXII. Austin, Texas, Southwestern Historical Association. Clopper, J.C., "Journal and Book of Memoranda for 1828," Texas State Historical Association Quarterly,Volume VIII, July,1909 to April, 1910. Austin, Texas, Texas State Historical Association, 1910. Rather, Ethel Zivley, "De Witt's Colony," Volume VIII, Texas State Historical Association Quarterly, October, 1904. Readers Digest, April, 1942. Pleasantville, New York, Readers Digest Association, Inc. Texas Outlook, June, 1939. Ft. Worth, Texas, Texas State Teachers' Association. Manuscripts Ledlow, W.F., The History of Protestant Education in Texas. M.A Thesis, University of Texas, 1926. Leslie, Theodore Hamilton, The History of Lavaca County Schools. M.A. Thesis, University of Texas, 1935. Wilson, Carl Bassett, A History of Baptist Educational Efforts in Texas, 1829-1900. M.A. Thesis, University of Texas, 1934. VITA Dorothy House Young was born in Yoakum, De Witt County, Texas, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Joseph House. She graduated from Yoakum High School, and she attended Southwest­ern University, Georgetown, Texas, the Univer­sity of Southern California, Southwest Texas State Teachers College, San Marcos, Texas, and the University of Texas, where she received the degree of Bachelor of Science. She taught in Hochheim Prairie, Texas, and in Wynne Seale Junior High School, Corpus Christi, Texas. She was married in 1~40 to Mr. James Young, Junior, and is now living in Corpus Christi, Texas.