History of Tarrant County From Its Beginning Until 1875

This thesis was submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Texas Christian University in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History, August, 1938, and approved by the examining committee.

Verna Berrong was in the U. S. Navy in World War II and then became a teacher. She taught history at Amon Carter Riverside High School for many years.

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Chapter I: Land Grants and Earliest Settlers

The beginnings of Tarrant County are closely associated with the life and work of Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson, the establishment of Bird's Fort, and to some extent with the colonization plans of the Peters Land Company.

The territory now known as Tarrant County surely must have been an attractive spot for the Indians of the region, yet few records exist of the redman's residence in the area. Arrowheads and other Indian relics have been found in several locations, but the questions always arise as to which Indians left those remains and how long they resided in that vicinity.

The site of Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson's first home near Johnson's Station was definitely an old Indian camping ground. At this site on Mill Branch are some springs called the Mare le Bone or Fossil Springs.¹ Old settlers thought the rocks around the springs were the fossil bones of some huge prehistoric sea monster, a theory which was strengthened by the presence of other rocks nearby which contained fossil sea shells. In one of the large boulders an Indian grist mill has been hollowed out and nearby is a smaller stone which must have been used to grind the corn.

Who were the Indians who roamed the territory of present day Tarrant County? The Tonkawas, the Keechies, the Lipans, and the Comanches are most frequently mentioned in references to northern Texas, but there is rarely an instance with which any particular tribes can be identified. Most pioneers and early settlers of the state referred to all Indians indiscriminately as Comanches, and shared the opinion that the only good Indian was a dead Indian. The Indians who visited the settlements were often referred to as wild Indians or tame Indians; the former were those who came to attack or carouse, while the latter were those who came to beg and trade.

Among the earliest written records dealing with the territory known to be Tarrant County of today are those concerned with General Edward H. Tarrant's Indian fight on Village Creek, the site of which has now a granite monument erected by the State of Texas in 1936 as part of a centennial project.²

Following the massacre of the Ripley family in Titus County in late April, a party of volunteer rangers started from Choctaw Bayou on May 4, 1841. James Bourland was elected captain of the expedition and William C. Young was elected lieutenant. Some accounts say that Tarrant was disgruntled at not having his superior rank and experience recognized in the election of officers, but, however that may have been, he was soon the acknowledged leader of the party, and it was because of this expedition that Tarrant County was named for him. Other outstanding members of the party were Dr. Lemuel Cochran, orderly sergeant; Henry Stout and John B. Denton, scout leaders.³ The expedition was reported by Cochran as having eighty members, by Stout as having seventy, and William N. Porter, still another member of the expedition, as having sixty-nine. The discrepancy is accounted for by the fact that some of the party returned home after several days of unrewarded search.⁴

By May 24, the Indians had been located encamped in villages on the banks of Village Creek, a tributary of the Trinity River. Before the attack Tarrant is said to have talked to his men and given any who wished permission to turn back, a privilege which no one exercised. Then the party of rangers attacked the nearly defenseless and surprised Keechi villages. The Indians were too surprised to offer much resistance and were soon put to route, leaving their possessions behind. The rangers recovered some of their stolen property and confiscated the Indians' property as spoils of the battle. The massacre of the Ripley family was avenged.

The rangers suffered one severe loss, that of Lieutenant John B. Denton. After the first skirmish was over he and some of his scouts continued to search for Indians, and it was while he was returning to the main party that he was shot in the back by an Indian and instantly killed. The survivors attempted to return to Fannin County with the body, but the severe heat made it necessary to bury him on the way. The body was carefully buried and marked by large rocks. Arguments have since arisen as to the finding of the body in later years. Henry Stout, a member of the expedition, claimed years later that he led Major Jarvis and others over the exact trail followed by the expedition and that the body was found and removed.⁵ The most generally accepted story, however, is that two cowboys from the Chisum Ranch in Denton County discovered the grave, which had long been searched for, by accident while out rabbit hunting in 1856. The body was removed to a place of honor on the ranch and still later re-buried in the public square in Denton.

Bird's fort was established in the winter of 1840-1841.⁶ Captain Jonathan Bird led a amall party of pioneers up the Trinity River and located a post, according to the laws of the Republic of Texas donating lands for such purposes, on the military road between Red River and Austin. Bird's group were largely rangers who returned home at the expiration of their terms of enlistment.⁷ In the fall of 1841, Captain Mabel Gilbert, John Beeman, Wade Hampton Rattan, Alex Webb, Solomon Silkwood, and a man named Cartwright settled near the fort.⁸ Rattan, who was a member of a family prominent in the politics of the republic, had been a member of Tarrant's expedition the previous spring.⁹ He was killed in an attack by the Indians before his family joined him. Silkwood died from exposure.

From the meager records existing it appears that the Indians were rather troublesome. There are several graves near the location of the old fort which are at present lost; one of the graves is that of a man killed by the Indians during an attack, though J. J. Goodfellow, a surveyor, who worked with several different people in connection with the site doubts that it is that of Rattan. He wrote from San Angelo, Texas, on October 17, 1925:

Mrs. Mary Daggett Lake
Fort Worth Texas

Dear Madam
Replyin to your enquiry of 15th inst. regarding the Oldest or firt [sic] Burying Ground in Tarrant County, will say that I prepared for Judge C. C. Cummins [sic] several years ago, sketches &c of the Burying Grounds at Calaway's Lake--I have a copy somewhere of a part of my report to him, but am unable to locate same at this writing--If you can locate some of C. C. Cumming's Heirs, you might be able to get the sketch showing the location of the graves--My first visit to these graves, was some time between 1866 and 1870, at which time Col B. Rush Wallace was the owner of property, covering most of Calaway's lake, and the ground upon which the Old "Block House" and the Graves were located.--The remains of old Block House were then plainly visable [sic] & stood on N. E. bank of the lake, at a point where a "Country Club" later built a swimming pool--From this Block House, a path led in a northeasterly direction, probably 250 to 300 yards through Timber to the Graves.

Col. Wallace told me the History of the place, and said that the first person Burried [sic] there was killed by the Indians when he ventured out from the "Block House" to go to the Spring for water, while being beseiged [sic] by the Indians. The Spring was at the edge of the lake about 30 or 40 yards from the Block House. Known as "Birds Fort"--Col. Wallace gave the name of the first party so killed by the Indians, but I think it was not Ratton [sic], who a little later with a few others, was buried there.

Mrs. Annie Wallace Yates, who lives either in Fort Worth or some where near there, may be able to give you some information relative to the questions you asked me.

Below I will give a rough outline of location &c of Graves relative to Lake, which I recall from memory.

I was told that the first Burying ground was that at old "Birds Fort," but can not vouch for the correctness of this report.¹⁰

On February 5, 1926, Goodfellow wrote again:

. . . . . The old "Blook House" of Birds Fort was constructed of logs. The outer walls were constructed in pickett [sic] form, Logs set on ends, with deep entrenchments all around the Building--These trenches were plainly visable [sic] up to the time when the Caloway Lake Club, constructed a pavilion or swimming pool on the ground where the Block House stood, and destroyed most of the evidence of these Trenches. If the Club's pavilion is still in Existance, then you can locate the ground of the old "Fort Bird".--Mrs. Annie Wallace Yates, who lives in Fort Worth or vicinity, used to live at the Lake & may be able to locate the grounds of the Fort. . . . .¹¹

President Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar of the Republic of Texas pursued an Indian policy of severe force and extermination which greatly antagonized the Indians. He was followed in the presidency by General Sam Houston who understood the Indians and had lived among them for a period of several years in his boyhood. In 1843, Houston appointed a commission to invite all the Indians of Texas to attend a council of peace at Bird's Fort that summer. He wanted all the Indians of Texas included in one treaty if possible. He made a trip to the fort that summer, but the Indians did not arrive, so he returned to the capital.

In September, 1843, Houston made another attempt. George W. Terrell and General Edward H. Tarrant were acting as his personal representatives.¹² The treaty was signed at Bird's Fort on September 29, 1843, with the following tribes of Indians: Delawares, Chickasaws, Wacos, Tahuacarros, Keechies, Anadarkos, Iones, Biloxis, and Cherokees.¹³ Some of the tribes sent representatives from the United States. The treaty provided for a line dividing the Indians and the white settlements, for trading posts at given intervals, and for friendly relations between the races. Bird's' Fort declined after the signing of the treaty.

The fort was in existence when Tarrant made his expedition against the Keechi Indians at Village Creek, though it was not well known apparently. Andrew Davis, a young boy when he accompanied Tarrant's expedition, recalled the place in October, 1900, while speaking of the return of the expedition:

. . . . . We moved up the river to a point not far from Ft. Worth, and there spent the night. Early next morning we crossed the river at a place where the timber was narrow. After crossing the river, we traveled in the direction of Bird's Station, aiming for Bonham, as our objective point.¹⁴

The tragic Snively Expedition remnants took refuge at Bird's Fort on August 6, 1843. The fort seems to have declined with the Republic, for there is no mention of it after the coming of settlers to Johnson's Station and other early settlements. The State of Texas has marked the site of the old fort with its uniform granite marker during the centennial activities in 1936. Few people have heard of the marker and even fewer have seen it, for the marking was given little publicity and the location is almost inaccessible because of extremely poor roads and nearby residents who fear that visitors come only to fish in the lake.

In accordance with the treaty made with the Indians at Bird's fort In 1843, Ed Terrell and two friends, John P. Lusk, and a man named Shackwith, established a trading post in Live Oak Grove on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. The site is now within the city limits of Fort Worth. The three men traded trinkets to the Indians for pelts and other items which the Indians had. These men, however, were not popular with the Indians and were forced to leave hurriedly after about a year's trading.

Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson settled at the Mare le Bone Springs about 1847, while there were still but very few settlers in the region. He headed the Texas Rangers for the northern frontier, so his home was headquarters for the rangers as well as for everyone else who passed through the country. His two older sons, Tom and Ben, were also rangers. Johnson is said to have made a treaty with the Indians for the land on which he settled, but no reliable record of such a treaty has been found.¹⁵ The community which grew up around his home was known as Johnson's Station.

When the United States government decided to establish a series of forts along the western frontier in 1849, to protect the settlers from the Indians, Major Ripley A. Arnold went to Colonel Johnson and together the two looked for a strategic spot on which to locate the post. The land chosen was the property of Johnson and his partner, Archibald Robinson; it was turned over to the government for use until the post should be abandoned at which time it was to revert to the original owners. The post was named Camp Worth in honor of General William Jenkins Worth, hero of the Mexican War, under whom Arnold had served and whom Johnson greatly admired and respected. Worth was at that time commander of the forts along the western frontier. Camp Worth, which was established on June 6, 1849, was one of a series of posts which Included Fort Griffin, Fort Belknap, and several others. On September 14, 1849, the War Department ordered the name Camp Worth changed to Fort Worth, though the post never became a real fort.

Indian depredations in the area were few and far between and never serious. An occasional scare was roused, when scouts were sent riding wildly and shouting warnings to the surrounding territory, but no encounters ever resulted. A few Indians were frequent visitors to the post, but they were rarely a menace since they came either to trade or to carouse.

By 1852, it was apparent that there was no real need for the fort, so it was abandoned in November, 1853. Its main contribution was the feeling of security which it afforded the early settlers and the development of the very small village which was the usual attendant of a military post. In the southwest corner of the Pioneer's Rest cemetery on Samuels Avenue in Fort Worth can be seen the graves of Major Arnold, who was according to some reports killed by Indians while away from the post, and to other reports, met his death at the hands of an army surgeon, and of several unknown soldiers who died about 1850.

When the fort was abandoned the buildings were sold to the citizens of the tiny village which had huddled around it. The cavalry stable is reported to have been sold to Ephraim Merrell Daggett who converted it into Fort Worth's first hotel.

In the years following the abandonment of the post a few Indian scares were aroused, but proved to be only false alarms. Mrs. John S. Fort (Sallie Watson) remembers seeing a man coming riding wildly over the prairies from Fort Worth to the vicinity of present day Arlington shouting a warning of Indians, sometime in the sixties, but the Indians never came.¹⁶ By 1873, most of the Indians had been segregated on reservations provided by the federal government in Oklahoma.

The Republic of Texas followed the old Spanish system of land grants to contractors or empresarios as a means of introducing permanent settlers into its vast public domains. One of the largest of these land grants was made to W. S. Peters and his nineteen associates, nearly all of whom resided in Louisville, Kentucky, for an enormous tract of land along the Trinity River.¹⁷ This tract included the whole or a large portion of twenty-six present day counties, one of which is Tarrant County. The contract was entered in the name of the Republic of Texas by President Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar on August 30, 1841, with the company which was to be known as the W. S. Peters Land Company.¹⁸

The contract stipulated that the company was to introduce at least six hundred families in the area within a period of three years. The boundaries of the granted territory were, in the terms of present day county lines:

. . . . . The point of beginning was in what is now Grayson county, where Big Mineral Creek Joins the Red River. Thence the line extended due south one hundred miles to a point in the east part of Ellis county; thence due west one hundred and sixty-four miles; thence north to the Red river; and this stream formed the northern boundary down to the place of beginning.¹⁹

This huge territory included the following counties of today: Grayson, Collin, Dallas, Ellis, Johnson, Tarrant, Denton, Cooke, Montague, Wise, Parker, Hood, Erath, Palo Pinto, Jack, Clay, Wichita, Archer, Young, Stephens, Eastland, Callahan, Shackleford, Throckmorton, Baylor, and Wilbarger. All of these counties are large in area and are situated in a rich farming district; oil has been discovered in a number of them.

On January 16, 1843, the Congress of the Republic of Texas gave all colonizing companies an extension of time, until July 1, 1848, in which to introduce the required number of colonists, but the conditions were altered so that the contractors were required to introduce as many as two hundred and fifty families during each year.

According to the terms of the contract, each head of a family was to be allowed six hundred and forty acres of land of his own choosing, and each single man who was over the age of seventeen years was entitled to half that amount, three hundred and twenty acres. The colonist was to be required to build a house and reside in it, to cultivate at least ten acres of land, and to remain on his land for at least three years.

The Peters Land Company was not successful in achieving the fulfillment of its contract. Many settlers were lured to the colony by its advertisements, but the territory was vast and unwieldy, and though the contract of the company was recognized by the State of Texas after her annexation to the United States, the accomplishments of the company were far from satisfactory. Several times, both before and after the original contract hed expired, the state was forced to pass laws regulating the filing of claims for lands within the Peters grant and for the registration of surveys.

Though Tarrant County was included in the territory granted to the Peters Land Company, not a great number of the Tarrant pioneers received a headright directly from that agency. After July 1, 1848, the original contract had expired and all unclaimed lands might be acquired by settlers according to the state laws regulating the deposition of the vacant public domain.

In 1850, the State issued land certificates to all Peters colonists who had received lands prior to 1848. This was done in an effort to settle all contradictory claims and disputes which were arising with the influx of large numbers of new comers.

The Peters Land Company was reorganized in 1858 under the name of the Texas Emigration and Land Company. In response to the many claims made by the company, the State passed an act on February 10, 1852, which provided that the company should relinquish all its claims to the colony, in return for which it was to receive certificates to seventeen hundred sections of land in the original colony grant, provided the land had not already been settled and secured by the law of 1850. All persons who had claimed land between the years 1848 and 1853 according to land script, headright, or bounty warrant were not to be placed in a better or worse condition by the new law.

On February 7, 1853, it was declared that all claims made between July 1, 1848, and February 10, 1858, on lands unsectioned by the Peters Company should not be interfered with by that company. So once more the Peters Land Company, now the Texas Emigration and Land Company, controlled an enormous extent of Texas' vacant public domain. The reservation of the company did not expire until August 10, 1854. After the expiration of the reservation there was again a marked increase in the immigration into northwest Texas.

During the period which the Peters Land Company controlled the colonization of the region which was later incorporated in Tarrant County, the vast majority of the immigrants were from Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Illinois, and Indiana. Groups of people from those states would band together for the trek to their new homes, and are often referred to as colonies from certain states. The Missouri Colony was one of the earliest settlements in Tarrant County, having made a settlement near modern Grapevine. Other Immigrants, however, were Southerners, such as Colonel M. T. Johnson, founder of Johnson's Station.

Of the political results which followed this comingling of those whose thought-cleavage was for state right with those who believed in strong federal forms, perhaps the most conspicuous was the almost even division in several counties of Peters Colony, in the vote for and against secession; Tarrant county, for instance, declaring for secession by a majority of lees than two score.²⁰

Chapter II: The Political Organization of Tarrant County

The government of Tarrant County did not present a problem of any great importance before 1849. The few people of the county were widely scattered, hard working, and peace abiding citizens, and trouble with the Indians was extremely rare. Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson headed a company of rangers located at his residence and they met any emergency of law or disorder which arose in the sparsely populated area. There was no real town in the locality. Johnson's Station is given the designation of town more by courtesy than by fact. Johnson's Station was the community of farms stretching from present day Johnson's Station, following the timber line beyond modern Arlington. Stage coaches and mail riders stopped near Johnson's residence and store at the Mare le Bone Springs, but the Union Sunday School of the community was about seven miles away, near P. A. Watson's home, just back of the present location of Arlington Downs. It was not until after 1870 that enough settlers had moved into the vicinity to justify the division of the community and the Sunday School. After the division the community to the north became known as Watson's Community.

Fort Worth was founded In June, 1849, and the military encampment lent a feeling of security and protection to nearby settlers. Other existing towns in the county were in the same formative stage. The census of 1850 listed the total population of Tarrant County as five hundred and ninety-nine whites, and sixty-five negro slaves, the total not sufficient for a large town.²¹

Colonel Johnson was active in his interest for the political organization of the county. In response to his and other outstanding citizens' petitions, the State of Texas passed an act creating the county on December 20, 1949. The act provided that

. . . . . beginning at the south-west corner of Dallas county; thence, running north with the Dallas county line to the north-west corner of Dallas county; thence due west thirty miles: thence, east thirty miles to place of beginning--subject, however, to bear with south-west and north-west corners of Dallas county, should said corners of Dallas county be found to be incorrect, upon a final re-survey of said county of Dallas . . . . .

should be included in the new county of Tarrant.²² There are 577,920 acres of land in this survey.

The act further provided that the area should be surveyed and that the election of the first county officers should take place on the first Monday in August, 1850. The election returns were to be made to and opened by Colonel M. T. Johnson. The chief justice of Dallas County was to divide the district into precincts and appoint the officers to hold the election.

Vincent J. Hutton, Waling R. Rodgers, _______ Little, Sanders Elliott, and Colonel Johnson were appointed commissioners "whose duty it shall be to lay off said county seat."²³ The county seat was to be located within five miles of the center of the county and that

. . . . should more than two places but in nomination for the said county seat, the Chief Justice, upon opening the polls, and no one having received a majority of the votes polled, shall immediately put in nomination the two highest number of votes, and advertise a new election between the two places having the highest number of votes in at least four public places in the said county, for at least ten days; and the place receiving the highest number of votes shall be the place established as the county seat of said county of Tarrant, and shall be called Birdville.²⁴

The last statement in the act raises the doubt that there was a settlement called Birdville prior to 1849. Pioneers and early writers, however, say that Birdville was an older and, for many years, a larger community than its neighbor the newly formed Fort Worth. It is certain though, that with a population of less than six hundred whites in the entire county there was no real town at Birdville. The name Birdville is probably derived from old Bird's Fort, the first settlement in the county.

The newly formed county was to be named for General Edward H. Tarrant, who was not at that time and never became a resident of the county. Tarrant's only connections with the county were that he had attacked and defeated some weak and nearly defenseless Indians at Village Creek In the spring of 1841, and that he had been one of President Houston's peace commissioners at the treaty signed with the Indians at Bird's Fort in September, 1843. It is possible that Tarrant made other scouting trips through the area from time to time in later years. Tarrant had been an outstanding character during the days of the Republic of Texas because of his ability as a soldier and Indian fighter and because of his services with both the Congress of the Republic of Texas and the Legislature of the State of Texas. Tarrant died In Ellis County in 1858, and seventy years later his grave was moved to Pioneer's Rest Cemetery in Fort Worth.²⁵

Colonel M. T. Johnson is rightfully called the father of Tarrant County. He did more than any other person to develop the area both before and after its organization into a county. He was able to accomplish a great deal because of his political and social friendships with Houston and other leading men of the State. He not only gave freely of his time and hospitality, but he was equally generous with his lands; he and his partner, Archie Robinson, donated the land on which Fort Worth was established. Mrs. Lake has a document written in 1857 in the colonel's own hand, guaranteeing the building of the courthouse at Fort Worth. Johnson County, Just south of Tarrant County, is named in his honor.

The first elections took place on Monday, August 5, 1850. Seburn Gilmore was elected the first chief justice of the county.²⁶ Francis (Frank) Jordan was the first sheriff of Tarrant County.

The location of the county seat was a problem which caused trouble almost from the very beginning, though it was five years before Fort Worth was actively proposed as a rival for the honor. On September 4, 1850, less than a month after the first election in the county, the Texas Legislature passed another act relative to the county seat of Tarrant county. This act provided that the

. . . . . several courts for said county shall be held at the store house of E. M. Daggete [sic], in the vicinity of Fort Worth, until the election provided for in the first section of this bil1 shall have been holden, and the county seat permanently located.

This bill further provided

That the territory and citizens west of said county of Tarrant, and east of the Brazos river, be under jurisdiction and entitled to privileges and immunities of other citizens, until otherwise provided by law.²⁷

Birdville won this election and a small log building was erected to serve as a county court house. Land for the county seat was donated by George Akers, J. W. Elliston, L. G. Tinsley, Sanders Elliott, Ben P. Ayres, William Norris, and _______ Ayres.²⁸

On February 10, 1854, the Texas Legislature was once again forced to consider the county seat of Tarrant County. On that date an act was passed regulating the sale of town lots in the county seat and authorizing the commissioners previously appointed to turn over all papers and legal documents arising from their work to the proper authorities.

Birdville remained the county seat for the next two years without legal conflict, but on August 26, 1856, the Texas Legislature, in response to a petition signed by Johnson, E. M. Daggett, and other prominent and influential citizens, authorized the chief justice of Tarrant County to order an election to be held on the first Tuesday of November, 1856, by the qualified voters of the county. The election was to "locate the county site of said county."²⁹ The fight was only beginning. At the time of this election Fort Worth was a very small village, no longer even an army post. Fort Worth barely won this election.

Birdville bitterly contested the election. On November 30, 1857, Senator Erath, speaking for a committee of investigation, reported that Birdville received three hundred and twenty votes in the election and that Fort Worth received three hundred and forty-two; one vote was cast for another location, bringing the total number of votes to six hundred and sixty-three. At that time, unfortunately, there were only six hundred and forty qualified voters in the entire county, and seven were known definitely not to have voted at all. Of the thirty votes proved to have been illegal, Erath reported:

At least the number of 22 which is the majority for Fort Worth were illegal votes.

They also find that the petition presented to the last Legislature coatained [sic] 454 signatures for a removal, when the vote for the same amounted to 342; and further they find that the petition now presented in favor of Birdville, containing 138 over 500 signers, of whom, those advocating the claims of Fort Worth, have only attempted to challenge 77, leaving only 400 out of 640 voters in favor of Birdville. Your committee have therefore concluded that said eletion ought to be void, and that any act allowing them to remove the county site by a majority vote should be repealed, and have instructed me to report the bill back to the Senate, with an amendment and recommend the adoption of the amendment, and the passage of the bill, and ask to be discharged from the further consideration of the subject.³⁰

The proof of illegality in the election was indisputable, and the quarrel between the rival towns became so bitter that it is said to have resulted in several deaths and was responsible for continual strife in county affairs for more than five years.³¹ Captain Ephraim Merrell Daggett was leader of the forces in favor of Fort Worth. Sam Woody, first settler of Wise County, and his family are said to have contributed not a few of the illegal votes in favor of Fort Worth.³² The warfare was carried into the first Democratic State Convention ever held in Texas. This convention met in Waco in May, 1857, and both Birdville and Fort Worth sent delegations. After several disputes the Fort Worth delegation was finally seated and J. R. Wallace of the Birdville delegation was given a seat by courtesy.³³

After years of continued bickering A. J. Walker, a member of the Texas Legislature from Tarrant County, was at last successful in getting an act passed to secure another election on the question. This last election settled the dispute for all time. The population of the county had increased to five thousand one hundred and seventy white in 1860. The election which took place in April of that year resulted in five hundred and forty-eight votes for Fort Worth, three hundred and one votes for a place in the center of the county, and four votes for Birdville; a total of eight hundred and fifty-three votes. Birdville had realized the hopelessness of the situation and had cast her influence for the center of the county; Birdville was just a little nearer that center than was her rival, Fort Worth.

Fort Worth citizens were liberal in subscribing for and guaranteeing a courthouse. Colonel M. T. Johnson favored the Fort Worth location and was one of the most liberal guarantors. The land on which the courthouse was built was originally his property. Because of the unsettled conditions of the times just before the Civil War and because of the war itself, the Fort Worth courthouse remained a temporary structure until 1867. The structure erected in that year stood until 1876. It burned on March 29 of that year and with it all of the original documents pertaining to the founding of Tarrant County. Only a few memorandum books are said to have been saved.

Chapter III: Towns of Tarrant County

Just which town or community in Tarrant County is the oldest is hard to determine. Old Bird's Fort was unquestionably the first settlement, but it was abandoned soon after 1843. Birdville is said to have grown out of this settlement, but this is a point without proof, for the town of Birdville is not on the site of the original settlement, and none of even the earliest residents of Birdville are known to have lived near Bird's Fort. The relation of the two communities seems to have been entirely one of name, for the newer settlement was no doubt named in honor of the first.

The area which was to be incorporated in the County of Tarrant was on the frontier in 1845. In that year James Cate, Patrick A. Watson, Macajah Goodwin, and a very few others received headrights from the Peters Land Company and settled in the eastern part of the county. A colony started from Missouri in that year and settled in the northeastern section of the district near the Dallas County line, but no mention is made of an established community in the area.³⁴

The Missouri Colony came to Texas in response to the advertising campaign put on by the Peters Land Company and the members received their grants from that company. The members of the group all settled in the same locality and formed a community which was first known as Lonesome Dove. The community was also called by several other names during the first years of its existence. It was sometimes referred to as Dunnville or Dunnsville, taking Its name from Dr. J. C. Dunn, a member of the colony.

When a post office for the community was established the name became a subject of controversy. Some of the settlers favored the name of Suggsville because Henry Suggs owned part of the survey on which the post office site was located. Those preferring the name Leonardsville, however, were in the majority, so the community was named in honor of Archie Franklin Leonard, who became a very prominent citizen in the early days of Tarrant County.³⁵ Early references to the community are made in all of the above names, excepting that of Suggsville which never became recognized. Since the community was widely scattered at that date it is probable that each name referred to a definite part of the community rather than to the entire settlement.

By 1854 the county had been organized and a need for a more definite name for the community had arisen. In that year Judge James Tracy Moorehead, who had moved to the locality from Virginia, suggested that the name of Grapevine Springs be adopted. The name was appropriate for nearby was a spring by which grew an oak tree entwined by a grapevine. This spring, just over the boundary line in Dallas County, is said to have been the site of a treaty made with the Indians in 1838.³⁶ The settlement gradually moved westward and became known as Grapevine Prairie. After the Civil War, however, the latter part of the name was dropped, and today the town is known merely as Grapevine.

During the Civil War Grapevine was one of the most active settlements in the county. The first company of volunteers to leave Tarrant County was Captain William Quayle's Company of Mounted Riflemen, State Volunteers, which was commanded by a Grapevine man and organized in that village. During the war the men who were over the army age limit banded together to protect the wives and children of the soldiers who had gone to the war. Judge Moorehead, E. M. Jenkins, Jall Simpson, and John C. Dunn formed what they called the Beef Club whose aim was to do war service by keeping the homes well protected and supplied with plenty of food.³⁷

Johnson's Station is said by some to be the oldest permanent settlement in the county, but unless there is some basis for the statement made by Mrs. Sallie Hodges McKnight of Mansfield that there was a trading post there prior to the coming of Colonel M. T. Johnson, this statement seems erroneous.³⁸ Colonel Johnson came to the Mare le Bone Springs from Shelby County, Texas, where he had been a prominent citizen. He had taken part in the Regulator-Moderator dispute there and had served both the Republic of Texas and the state of Texas as a representative of the people. He had a responsible position as an officer of the Texas Rangers and had served in the Mexican War. It was for this last service that he received huge grants of land along the Trinity River. He moved to the vicinity in 1847 or 1848; the date of his moving to Tarrant County is indefinite, but by 1849 he was a well established citizen. Johnson soon became the most outstanding citizen in the area, so outstanding that he became known as the Father of Tarrant County and his picture was put on the county seal. Johnson County, which adjoins Tarrant County, was named in his honor.³⁹

Johnson's Station soon grew up around the colonel's home, for his residence was also his ranger headquarters. In addition Johnson established a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, a sorghum mill, and a general merchandise store. When the county became more settled a post office was established and a stage coach inn was built.

This community followed what is known as the Cross Timbers along a little stream called by the several names of Johnson's Branch, Mill Branch, Trading House Creek, and possibly by other names.⁴⁰ The settlements extended from a point southeast of the present village of that name north beyond Arlington Downs. Johnson built a large house and soon became famous for his hospitality to both incoming settlers and famous visitors. Sam Houston, General William Jenkins Worth, Governor Throckmorton, and many well known Texans are said to have been frequent guests of the colonel. He lived according to the ideals of a southern gentleman, being a native of South Carolina, and had many slaves. His lavish entertainments and hospitality became known throughout the county.

When the Indiana Colony came to Texas in the late forties, Johnson entertained them as his guests, and the colony settled around the station. The Kentucky-Tennessee Colony stopped with Johnson in 1854 for a huge barbecue supper and spent the night at his home on their way to the northwestern part of the county where they formed a settlement. Other colonies whose destinations were in counties farther west were always assured of a welcome at Johnson's Station.

Patrick A. Watson lived at the northern part of the Johnson's Station community. Watson, from North Carolina, had settled his claim two years previous to Johnson's coming. In 1846 he donated the land for what is said to be the oldest cemetery in the county.⁴¹

The first church of the community, known as the Union Sunday School, was established on Watson's property on June 31, 1857. This Sunday School, except for the years of the Civil War, remained in existence until August 4, 1872, when it was considered there were enough people in the community to have denominational churches. There is a church located on the site at the present time which is a direct descendant of the old Union Sunday School.⁴²

Johnson served the Confederacy during the Civil War, although he had voted against secession, and died while attending the Constitutional Convention of 1866 at Austin. In the early 1870s the large, unwieldy community known as Johnson's Station divided into several smaller communities. One division became known as Watson's Community; it is at present a part of Arlington. Another division was Haytersville, named for the Reverend A. S. Hayter, who was also one of the early surveyors of the county. Haytersville was renamed Arlington after the coming of the railroad, in honor of Robert E. Lee's home in Virginia.

Birdville, as previously stated, was most likely named for Bird's Fort. At any rate, the act authorizing the organization of Tarrant County specified the building of a town in the center of the county which was to be named Birdville. Unquestionably, however, there was a community already located in that area, for during the year when the county seat was disputed all were agreed that Birdville was older than Fort Worth and it was a much larger community. Aside from the part which the village played in the county dispute, Birdville seems to have had a relatively uneventful history in the days before the coming of the railroad, and since that time her rival neighbor has grown until today Birdville is almost a part of Fort Forth.

After the Civil War Birdville had the first woman postmistress in the United States. At that time the town was still the point from which mail was distributed in the locality and several unorganized counties to the west. The postmistress was Alice Barkeley (later Mrs. W. H. Wright), the fifteen year old, bobbed-haired daughter of Dr. B. F. Barkeley. Barkeley had been postmaster during the Civil War, but was disqualified from further service because of his having held the office under the Confederacy.⁴³

In June, 1849, Colonel Johnson entertained the officers who had been sent by the federal government to establish a fort on the Clear Fork of the Trinity River. He then personally conducted the men to look for a suitable site. Johnson and his partner, Archie Robinson, gave the land on which the post was located, and Johnson and Major Ripley A. Arnold named the place Camp Worth, in honor of Brigadier-General William Jenkins Worth, who had been outstanding during the Mexican War and who was at that time in command of the posts defending the western frontiers of Texas and the Southwest. The post was first established on low ground, but shortly moved to the bluffs at the suggestion of G. P. Farmer who thought the higher location would be more healthful.

Camp Worth was established primarily to protect the settlers on the western frontier from Indian attacks. On September 14, 1849, the Department of War decreed that the post should have the more impressive title of Fort Worth, but there was never a fort erected on the site. The only buildings were the soldiers barracks which were not even fenced in. Fort Worth was not an imposing place when Lieutenant W. H. C. Whiting made his tour of reconnaissance of the frontier posts late in 1849. On January 21, 1850, he reported from San Antonio:

Fifty-four miles above Fort Graham, in nearly a north direction, at the junction of the Clear and West forks of the Trinity river, is Fort Worth. An excellent road, skirting the western edge of the Lower Cross Timbers, is already made between the posts. The latter is the most northerly of the chain, and is the most objectionable in its position . . . . . The garrison is therefore forced to the high plain, exposed all winter to the northers and sleets of the country, and in summer to scorching heats. The fort has been laid out on a scale rather contracted--probably as designed originally but for one company. And the arrangement of the stables I cannot commend: they are too near the quarters of both officers and men, and, however thorough the police may be, cannot but be offensive in the summer. The question of security or defense is readily settled. A picketing with a guard, considering the nature and mode of warfare of the probable enemy is ample. To place the stables within shot from the barracks, in such wise that its approach in event a coup de main is commanded, I think is all that is required.

A mill, worked by horse-power, hard by the post, and the thickly-wooded bottom of the Trinity, furnished cheap and abundant supplies of lumber and fuel. A coarse-grained marble, making excellent building material, and plenty of lime and sand, are found in the neighborhood. No post is so plentifully supplied as to forage and subsistence. Within forty miles are the little villages of Dallas and Alton; and numerous hamlets are found through the Cross Timbers, which afford nearly everything that is required for consumption by the troops.

. . . . . The distance between Fort Washita and Fort Worth is one hundred and twenty-miles, and entirely too great for their small garrisons to scout over effectually. An extensive line of country is exposed to the incursions of a wild tribe, with which, as yet, no relations have been established. . . . . ⁴⁴

The garrison, if such it might be called, was commanded by Major Ripley A. Arnold until shortly before It was abandoned. At his death Arnold was buried in Pioneer's Rest Cemetery at Fort Worth. Major Hamilton W. Merrill headed the post for a short while. Some of the soldiers became settlers in the county after their terms of enlistment had expired. Three of these were Abraham Harris, Richard King, and Louis Wetmore. Dr. Carroll M. Peak, who followed a Dr. Standifer as post surgeon, also settled in the neighborhood.

The Indians in the neighborhood bothered so little that by 1853, it became apparent that there was no real need for the post, so it was abandoned. On November 17, 1853, Lieutenant Haliday led the last detachment of dragoons to Fort Belknap. When the post was deserted M. T. Johnson and Archie Robinson reclaimed the land according to their contract. The buildings were sold to local settlers, for the post had attracted a number, to be used for various purposes. E. M. Daggett is said to have purchased the cavalry stable and converted it into Fort Worth's first hotel. The hotel was soon replaced, however, by the more portentious Andrew's Tavern, operated by Albert C. Andrews.

Victor Considerant, A French Socialist, visited Fort Worth in 1853 while searching for a place to locate his colony. Considerant was enthusiastic about the location:

Gardens are no less easily prepared than grain; fields; to obtain a superb one is but the work of a few months, and I saw such at Fort Worth and at Fort Graham, made from the least fertile portions of the prairie soil which happened to be most convenient to these military posts.

Here our most delicate European vegetables grow beside those of warmer climates, Beans of all kinds, green peas, melons, sweet potatoes and twenty other plants of the kitchen garden, succeeded perfectly. The tomato puts forth shoots from ten to twelve feet in length. And all this without watering, without weeding, without care of any sort! It seemed incredible.⁴⁵

Considerant was writing to lure colonists to America. The colony, La Reunion, was established near Dallas, but the colonists did not find the country so nearly perfect as Considerant had led them to believe.

Ephraim Merrell Daggett is called the Father of Fort Worth.⁴⁶ Just as his close friend and associate, M. T. Johnson, Daggett came to Tarrant County in 1847 from Shelby County, Texas, where he, too, had taken an active part in the Regulator-Moderator dispute of 1841-1843. He had served in both the Texas Revolution and in the Mexican War, Daggett led the Fort Worth faction in the dispute over the county seat in Tarrant county and was one of the guarantors for the building of the courthouse on the new site. He was backed in his leadership by Colonel Johnson.

The village of Fort Worth was not large, it never numbered over five hundred until after the coming of the railroad in 1876. During the Civil War the town was almost depopulated, but the town held a strategic position. It was on the military road that connected the frontier forts with Austin, and it was in the center of a plentiful source of supplies. After the Civil War the cattle industry became more and more a rising industry and Fort Worth was one of the outstanding stops on the old Chisholm Trail. The cowboys liked the town for it was, in the vernacular of the day, wide open.

When the railroads began to negotiate for building lines into Fort Worth, the town underwent a period of boom. In 1873 the town nearly doubled in population only to lapse again into obscurity when the railroad failed to extend its line to Fort Worth. The new interest in the town, however, had justified its being incorporated by a special act which became a law on February 17, 1873. The corporate limits of the town were defined by J. Y. Hoggsett as

Beginning at the northwest corner of the A. Gouhenant survey; thence south, crossing the West Fork of the Trinity River to the north bank of the Clear Fork; thence up to the Clear Fork on the west bank of the same to the south 1ine of the George Shield's survey; thence east with the south line of said Shield's survey to the southeast corner of the same; thence south to I. G. Jennings southwest corner; thence east with the south line of the said Jennings survey, and with the south line of P. T. Welch and M. A. Jackson's survey to the southwest corner of James Sanderson's survey; thence north with the east lines of the M. A. Jackson's and B. F. Crowley's survey; thence west with the north line of R. Brigg's survey, to the center of the said Brigg's survey; thence north four hundred yards, thence west to the west bank of Trinity River; thence up the river to the north line of the M. Baugh survey; thence west to the place of beginning.⁴⁷

Colonel Johnson and Daggett both gave liberally of their lands and money for the advancement of Fort Worth. Johnson died in 1866 while Fort Worth was still a village with few prospects of ever becoming a city. Daggett lived to see that village grow into a large town after the coming of the railroads and the stockyards. Daggett died in 1883.

Mansfield, located in the southeast corner of Tarrant County, was founded in the early fifties and named for R. S. Man and Captain Julian Field. Man, quiet and book loving, was from North Carolina and was known in the community as the old miller because of his work. He is often referred to as the Father of Mansfield. Field traded his Fort Worth store for one thousand acres of land in the vicinity of Mansfield where he built a lumber mill and established the first general merchandise store. Later Man and Field operated the first steam flour mill in the region. This mill supplied all the surrounding territory for many miles, including Fort Belknap and Fort Griffin by government contract. Several times the wagon trains were raided, and once in Loving Valley the entire party was massacred by the Indians. At the present time a memorial hall dedicated to the boys of Mansfield who served in the World War is erected on the site of the old mill.

Mansfield was the first educational center of the county. In 1869 Captain Field donated the land on which the Reverend John Collier founded the Mansfield Male and Female College. In 1877 Professor Smith Ragsdale also became a member of the faculty of the college which became a very well known educational institution in the area. The school attracted pupils from as far as Montana.⁴⁸

White Settlement is generally conceded to have been established in 1854 when the Kentucky-Tennessee Colony settled there. This colony started from Todd County, Kentucky, in November, 1854, and arrived in Tarrant County on December 12, 1854. There were ten wagon trains of covered wagons and two seated hacks drawn by two horses each.⁴⁹ The trip was made by way of Clarksville and Memphis, Tennessee, across the Mississippi River by steamboat, and up to Tarrant County by way of Paris, Texas. It was an uneventful trip and there were no Indian attacks on the way. Colonel Johnson entertained the colony on its first night in the county and the next day they proceeded on to their destination.

The name of the community has been attributed to several different sources. Since there is no record of any person in the community having the name White, it does not seem plausible that the settlement was named for a family. Another story concerning the origin of the same is that Judge J. C. Terrell once referred during a speech at Dallas to a May fete given in the community where all the girls wore white, thus giving rise to the name.⁵⁰ A more logical version is that the name was first used to distinguish the settlement from a nearby Indian settlement. Whatever may be the explanation of the name, it is indeed appropriate, for the land in that vicinity appears to be white, so white that it is unusual. It might be that the name rose from this fact.

Fort Worth and Arlington are the two largest settlements in Tarrant County; Grapevine and Mansfield are next largest. Today Birdville is practically absorbed by her one-time rival and Johnson's Station now consists of a filling station and a few small houses just to the west of the site of Johnson's old home. It is so small that it is hardly known and many of its citizens have never heard of the man for whom it was named despite the fact that the Johnson family cemetery is near at hand. Other towns have risen in the county since the coming of the railroads in 1876. Among the most outstanding of these newer towns are Keller, Azle, Crowley, and Saginaw. In addition to these there are many smaller communities which were at one time parts of the older communities or have risen along the railroads. Some of these are Dido, Venus, Benbrook, Handley, Euless, Oak Grove, Bedford, Sublett, Miranda, Everman, Kennedale, and Forest Hill. Niles City is now a part of Fort Worth, but at one time it was an independent community. It was established as an inducement to factory owners to come there and build to avoid the payment of Fort Worth city taxes.⁵¹ The plan, however, was not successful. Niles City includes the territory occupied by the stock yards.

The early towns of Tarrant County were typical western frontier towns. After the Civil War the cattle industry made Fort Worth a cattle town, and hence more western than her neighbors. The railroads made a city of the western town, made new towns along their lines, and were largely responsible for the decay of those towns which were not so fortunate as to be on the route of railroad

Chapter IV: Early Development of Tarrant County

When Texas became a free and independent repub1ic in 1836, only a small portion of the lands which she claimed were settled. North Texas and west Texas were practically unexplored. The Republic claimed a greater area than she was actually able to hold, lands which were later made parts of five other states in the United States. Only the southern and eastern parts of Texas were settled to any appreciable extent, so the land policy and attraction of settlers became one of the major problems of the Republic. In advancing the policy, land companies, such as the Peters Company, were given liberal grants of land and many privileges, and provision was made by national law for the acquisition of lands under the most lenient terms. Texas, at her annexation to the United States in 1845, reserved the full and entire control of the unappropriated lands, so the laws passed by the Republic remained in force. In 1854 the unoccupied lands of Texas were offered for sale at fifty cents per acre.⁵²

Tarrant County, being in the northern part of Texas, had little part in the activities of the Republic of Texas. Previous to 1845 the only recorded events in what was to become Tarrant County were the Battle of Village Creek and the incidents centering around Bird's Fort. The traders Terrell, Shackwith, and Rusk who came to Tarrant in 1843 came in compliance with the provisions of the treaty at Bird's Fort. So the active history of Tarrant County begins almost with the annexation of Texas to the United States, for it is then that the permanent settlers began to come into Tarrant County.

The Peters Land Company had advertised the advantages of northern Texas throughout the United States and, to a limited extent, in Europe. Tarrant was a part of the company's claim, yet few colonists located on that part of the grant. Tarrant was settled mainly after the rather obvious failure of the company as a colonizing agent, and most of the Tarrant County pioneers received their lands under the provision of the state laws. That is that each permanent settler received one hundred and sixty acres from the state.

The pioneers of Tarrant County were typical of the American frontier. They were hard-working, honest, often illiterate Anglo-Americans who had been none too successful at home and were moving westward in an effort to improve their economic conditions. Some were younger men who felt that a new country would offer greater advantages than the older and more settled district could. The military post at Fort Worth brought soldiers to the county who, when their terms of enlistment expired, settled near the community. Among these were Louis Wetmore, Abe Harris, Frank Knaar, Robert P. Maclay, and Dr. Carroll M. Peak. Wetmore was a German by birth, who had come to America to avoid the severe military service required in his own country.⁵³ Some other early pioneers who were also from European countries were Eli Rumby, Fort Worth's first dancing master, William Sanderson, Richard Bratton, and Professor John Hudson.

Colonel Johnson was not typical of the American frontier in that he was well educated and a prominent citizen before his coming to Tarrant County. He was given large grants of land for his services in the army and he must also have bought a great deal of land, for he held land in several parts of the country, and land could be bought at a very low price at that time. Johnson established a typical southern plantation at Johnson's Station. He had a large house and many negro slaves and lived in the manner of the Old South. In spite of his Southern heritage, however, Johnson opposed the secession of the Confederacy, although once the South was committed to its course he supported the cause.

Colonel Nathaniel Terry, who moved to Tarrant County from Alabama In 1854, was also a large slave owner of the Old South. He came to Texas following a double failure in Alabama, failing to become governor of the state and failing in his business. Unlike Colonel Johnson, Terry was an ardent secessionist during the Civil War.

During the days of political organization in Tarrant County several men rose to prominence. Aside from Colonel Johnson, there were also the three Daggett brothers, Ephraim Merrell, Henry Clay, and Charles Biggers. All played outstanding roles in Tarrant organization. Other families who were prominent in those early days were the Tannehills, the Tandys, the Calloways, the Leonards, the Copelands, the Brinsons, and many others.

Tarrant County, once established, grew steadily. It was in the center of an excellent agricultural district and many military and stage coach roads, and later the cattle trails, were routed across the territory. In 1858 there were sixteen thousand acres of land estimated to be under cultivation in Tarrant County. The chief crops were corn, cotton, and wheat.⁵⁴ The Civil War was responsible for a great decline in agriculture because of the scarcity of men. Only the older men and the women and children were left to carry on the work, so that very little was produced above what was necessary to provide for those at home.

Texas is admirably suited to ranching and stock raising of all kinds. This fact had been realized by the Spanish and Mexicans prior to the coming of the Anglo-Americans. At first the Americans were intent on establishing plantations and farms such as they were accustomed to in their old homes, but gradually came a realization of the possibilities in ranching. This realization was impressed during the war by the dependency of the Confederacy upon Texas for her meat supply. After the war was over a great interest and activity was devoted to the rising industry. Tarrant County occupied a strategic position in the rise of the industry, for to the east of the county was the farming district and to the west lay the ranching district. Soon the cattle trails over which cattle were driven to northern markets and pastures found their ways through the country. The most famous of these was the Old Chisholm Trail over which cattle were driven through the business district of Fort Worth. The village soon became a well known cowboy meeting place, and noted for the freeness of its entertainment; Fort Forth was less conscious of her morals than some of her neighbors.⁵⁵ It was during this period that the name Cow Town was first applied to Fort Worth.

The settlers who came to all parts of Texas after the Civil War were of a different type than the earlier pioneers, and Tarrant County had her share of the newcomers. This new group generally became cowboys and ranchers and were most often young men who had served with the Confederate army, though there were also many who had served with the North. In the case of the former, many came because of the political situation at home. Large numbers came because of participation in the lynching and like events which took place in the South as a result of the reconstruction policies of the North; participation which usually made their departure for the West highly advisable. Because of the commonness of this situation it was considered bad form among the cowboys to inquire, even casually, about a friend's past.⁵⁶

When the railroads came to Fort Worth In 1876, cattle were shipped to the northern markets from that point. The trail then ended in Fort Worth which strengthened the town as a center of the cattle industry. As the railroads moved westward it looked for a time as though Fort Worth would lose her strategic position. Then during the 1880s the packing houses began moving to Niles City, now a part of North Fort Worth, and gave Tarrant County a hold on the industry which she continues to maintain today. Since the coming of the packing houses Fort Worth ranks third in the nation as a cattle center.

The Civil War almost depopulated the county of men during the early sixties and many of them did not return from the war. Even the political development of the county was halted, for the court house which had been started just before the war was not completed until 1867. The county was almost evenly divided for and against secession, the votes carrying in favor by a majority of only twenty-seven. There were eight hundred votes cast in the county.⁵⁷ The leaders of the county were opposed to secession, but once secession was accomplished, they served the Confederacy loyally, often to their own disadvantage. Johnson, who was the friend of Governor Houston, voted against secession, but supported the Confederacy to the extent of organizing a company of cavalry which was later made a part of Hood's Brigade, assisting in the organization of other companies.⁵⁸ During the last years of the war he acted as a blocader for the Confederacy, keeping contact with Liverpool, England, through Cuba and Mexico. His son, Captain Tom Johnson, was killed in war at the Battle of Black River, Arkansas, and another son, Captain Ben Johnson, died in 1865 from the effects of having served in the war. Johnson was attending a reconstruction convention when he died in 1866.

Tarrant County sent at least ten companies to the Confederacy. In 1861 eight companies left the county commanded by Captains M. J. Brinson, J. R. Cummings, Richard M. Gano, Thomas A. Moody, Alex C. Netherly, William Quaile, C. R. Ragan, and Charles Turner.⁵⁹

That the Civil War greatly depleted the resources of the county is evidenced by noting the census reports for the years 1860 and 1870. In 1860 Tarrant County had a total population of six thousand and twenty, but in 1870 the total population was only five thousand, seven hundred and eighty-eight. The war left the organization of the county in a chaotic condition.

Just after the close of our Civil War; far more cruel and devastating than other wars, we of Tarrant, like all other counties, were without any local form of government whatever. From former decisions and from the very nature of things, we knew that de facto government existed with us, but the people at large were unsettled as to our exact legal status. For instance, marrying people wanted to know that a license issued by a de facto county clerk was indeed and in truth valid. A mistake might be horrible, and might be irremediable. Civil law must obtain. It was a question of bread and meat to us attorneys. By the reconstruction laws of Congress nearly all the intelligence of the country was barred from office and disfranchised, hence we were restricted to the aged and carpetbaggers. So, at the instance of several good people, Edward Hovenkamp of Birdville, who had been District Attorney in war times, and I went to Austin, and there we two held an election and named a full set of county officers. Arriving in Austin, I saw Provisional Gov. A. J. Hamilton, my brother's old law partner, who left Texas in 1861, and was made a Brigadier General in the Union Army, but never saw active service . . . . . Gov. Hamilton gave me a pencil note to his provisional Secretary of State, Judge James Bell, whom I well knew. He was a native Texan and had been on the Supreme Bench. We handed the note to Judge Bell, he at once asked for a list of names for appointment. We retired and returned him a list. The next morning the Judge handed me the commissions, signed and sealed. Among them were County Judge Stephen Terry, County Clerk G. Nance, District Clerk Louis B. Brown, who was an aged man, his wife being Miss Patterson of Maryland, sister-in-law of Jerome Bonaparte, brother of the great Napoleon. Mr. Brown was an elegant, hospitable gentleman of the old school. He came here in 1858 with an accomplished family and a few negroes and settled on Marine Creek. His son, Horatio, was a member of my company.⁶⁰

In 1873 Fort Worth enjoyed the prospect of having the Texas and Pacific Railroad built into the town, and the town boomed so that the population greatly increased. But the Panic of 1873 soon hit and the prospect faded, and with it much of the population of Fort Worth. The citizens of the town, however, did not give up hope, but kept working diligently. Three hundred and twenty acres of land were donated to the railroad by E. B. Daggett, Thomas J. Jennings, H. C. Hendricks, and Major K. M. Van Zandt. E. M. Daggett and others continued to offer land as an inducement to both railroads and new settlers who would build in the community. Finally, by means of legislation and hard work, the railroad was persuaded to build into Fort Worth. When the first train pulled into Fort Worth at 11:33 a. m. on July 19, 1876, Tarrant County began a new epoch in her history. Soon other railroads built into the town, and the small Cow Town was rapidly transformed from a tiny frontier village to a growing western city. Tarrant County became a source of supplies for the ranching district to the west. The population shifted during the first few years after the coming of the railroads to those towns which were located along the railroads, and Tarrant County settled down to a new era in her history.

APPENDIX A

The following is a list of men who are known to have been members of the expedition under General Edward H. Tarrant who fought the Keeohi Indians at the Battle of Village Creek on May 24, 1841.⁶¹

From Fannin County: John Yeary, Daniel Montague, Andrew Davis, Jackson McFarland, William H. Gilbert, William R. Baker, Lemuel M. Cochran, James G. Stephens, Wylie B. Merrell.

From Red River County: Edward H. Tarrant, John B. Denton, Henry Stout, William C. Young, James Bourland, John L. Lovejoy, Claiborne Chisum, William N. Porter, Richard Hopkins, Elbert Early, Calvin Sullivan, Lindley Johnson, Alsey Fuller, Andrew J. Fowler.

Residence unknown: Samuel Sims, Isaac Parker, Alex W. Webb, John M. Watson, Daniel Williams, Hampton Rattan, Littleton Rattan, Jack Ivey, _______ Pickens, Captain John Griffin.⁶²

Returned after a few days: Holland Coffee, W. A. Wallace, Silas Colville.

APPENDIX B

Ara Okla
Dec the 20--1925

Mrs Lake
Ft. Worth Tex

Your letter received some days ago I am sorry that I cant give you much Information as I was quite small when my Grand Father M T Johnson died and my Father before him I dont know of anyone to refer you all of the old timers that knew him personally that I know of have passed away. If I knew where to locat Aunt Sallie Fields children might get some Information as she kept a record of the family pretty close. they were in Los Angeles Cal when she died but have not heard from them since as to the grave it is in the old family grave yeard near the old mill site It has been so long since I was there I might not locate It myself It my Father Uncle Tom J and I think Uncle M. T. Jr. are all in a row. Grand Pas grave once had a rock or concrete arch over it.

Middleton T Johnson was born in S. C. am not sure about the date lived in Ala--dont know how long. my father was born there he came to Tex 1839 then to Tarrant I think in 48 or 49. I have been told held a treaty with Indians at old Johnson Station afterwards moved his soldiers to Ft Worth and gave It the name. he was stationed at Belknap when elected deligate to the Cecession Convention I think you can get more from the records than I can give

I noticed a piece in the Dallas News the records said he was born in 1815 I think he must have been older Ben H. Johnson was born in 1836 and there were two children than him Tom J and Capt Brinson first wife would be glad to help you if I could. I want a copy of your write up.

Respect
T J Johnson

Claud Okla
Jan 23 1928

Mrs Will F Lake
Ft. Worth Tex

After so long time will answer your letter of most a year ago I was sick when it came It got misplaced and was a long time before I found it I had forgotten your address If you want Col M T Johnsons picture let me know I will send it by registered mail. Will give you a few names Mr Cas Wise lived at Johnson Station run a store when I could first remember Jack Elliot lived close north east along the edge of Timber my Grand Fathers place next Jack Brinson Bill Burford Mr Finger Mat Coleman I went from Johnson Station to Ft Worth I passed two houses Carter Cannon on Village Creek and Tandy's 5 miles from Ft. Worth. please excuse this long delay, as ever yours truly

T J Johnson

P S
If I can help anymore I will
T J J

APPENDIX C

The members of the W. S. Peters Land Company were

(1) W. S. Peters
(2) Daniel S. Carroll
(3) Alexander Mc Red
(4) Rowland Gibson
(5) Robert Espie
(6) Willian H. Oldmixon
(7) Daniel Spillman
(8) Robert Hume
(9) John Salmon
(10) W. Byrne
(11) Henry Richards
(12) Robert D. Stringer
(13) W. C. Peters
(14) John C. Bansamen
(15) John Peters
(16) William Soott
(17) Phineas J. Johnson
(18) H. S. Peters
(19) Timothy Cray⁶³
(20) Samuel Browning

APPENDIX D

Tarrant

Edward H. Tarrant, for whom Tarrant County, Texas, was named was a well known pioneer in Texas, both during the days of the republic and during the period of early statehood. Like so many of his contemporaries, Tarrant was known in several fields. He was an Indian fighter, a statesman, a soldier and ranger, a lawyer, and a farmer. He was a great admirer of such men as Andrew Jackson and Sam Houston and knew both men personally.

Tarrant was born in North Carolina in 1876^*, but moved to Tennessee when he was quite young. He served with Jackson in several Indian campaigns and at the Battle of New Orleans in January, 1815. He came to Texas in 1835 and served with the Texas army during the revolution against Mexico.

^*Typographical error: Tarrant was actually born in South Carolina in 1799.

Tarrant was a member of the Texas Rangers in their earliest organization, having joined them in 1836, before that organization was well established. He was put in command of the forces which were to protect the northwestern frontier from Indian depredations.

In 1838 Tarrant was elected to the Congress of the Republic of Texas, but he soon retired in order to give more time to his ranger duties. At the Battle of Village Creek on May 24, 1841, Tarrant was outstanding. Although the expedition was nominally under the command of James Bourland, it is generally known as Tarrant's expedition. Tarrant's management of this expedition has been both praised and criticized by members of the party. Those who criticized were for the most part friends of John B. Denton who [was] killed soon after the battle. Denton and a small scouting group pursued the Indians after the main body of the expedition had given up the chase. It was because of this battle that the county where it took place was named in Tarrant's honor.

In 1843 Tarrant was again in the area that was to be named for him. This time he and George W. Terrell were the representatives of Houston at the treaty with the Indians which was signed at Bird's Fort on September 29, 1843.

After the Republic of Texas was annexed to the United States, Tarrant was elected a member of the Texas Legislature.

Tarrant died on his Ellis County farm in 1851. In 1938, seventy years later, a group of interested club women in Fort Worth, headed by Mrs. Charles Scheuber, had his grave moved to the Pioneer's Rest Cemetery. The grave is near that of Major Ripley A. Arnold. Tarrant is best remembered in Texas for his success as an Indian fighter and as a leader of the Texas Rangers.

APPENDIX E

The known families who came with the Missouri Colony to Tarrant County in 1845 are:

(1) B. F. Crowley
(2) Hiram Crowley
(3) Dr. J. C. Dunn
(4) Ambrose Foster
(5) Rev. John A. Freeman
(6) Archie Franklin Leonard
(7) Zeb Jenkins
(8) Eli Jenkins
(9) Jimmy West

Other early settlers in the community of the Missouri Colony, some of whom may have come with the colony are:

(1) Hamilton Bennett
(2) Nathan Hust
(3) Charles Burgoon
(4) W. M. Giddens
(5) H. S. Hope
(6) Philip D. Hudgens
(7) Rev. E. N. Hudgens
(8) Amos Quaile
(9) William Moorehead (from Virginia)
(10) Jacob Moorehead

The Indiana Colony came to Tarrant County about 1847. Most of them settled around the community of Johnson's Station. Some of the known families in this colony are:

(1) Josiah Barnes
(2) Hiram Blackwell
(3) A. H. Conner
(4) John Conner
(5) Lewis Finger
(6) R. C. Ford
(7) James Haydon
(8) Joseph Millsap
(9) Anderson Newton
(10) William J. O'Neill
(11) Joseph Tolliver
(12) James Wilson

The Kentucky-Tennessee Colony came to Tarrant County in the winter of 1854, and most of them settled in the community of White Settlement in the north western part of the county:

(1) James K. Allen
(2) Jack M. Durrett
(3) James Grant
(4) Tom Hagood
(5) Ben Hagood
(6) Paul Isbell
(7) Alsford Johnson
(8) Billy King
(9) Porter Smallwood
(10) Paul Tyler
(11) Isaac Ventioner
(12) Jim Ventioner
(13) John Weems

There were other families in this colony; Madison Coleman settled near Johnson's Station. Two of his daughters married in the Johnson family. One account says that Tom Johnson married Helen Coleman, but Mrs. John Fort, who knew the families, belleves that Helen Coleman was Ben Johnson's wife and that after her death he married her sister.

Other families who are thought to have been in the colony are those of John Ingraham, Jack Collier, C. G. Payne, and a family named Petty.

APPENDIX F

Johnson

Middleton Tate Johnson, the founder of Tarrant County, was born in South Carolina in the early part of the nineteenth century.⁶⁴ The exact year of his birth is unknown. The marker erected by the State of Texas at his grave gives his birth date as 1810, but other sources give the date of 1802.⁶⁵ Johnson was a man of great intelligence and education and was an excellent speaker. Just where or how he received that education is unknown, but existing papers in his own handwriting give ample evidence of an education far above the level of his day.⁶⁶ Johnson was a very large man over six feet tall and weighing about two hundred and twenty-five pounds. He is said to have been a fine looking man with a florid complexion. J. C. Terrell said of him

Johnson was physically the strongest man I ever knew. Neither of them [Johnson and E. M. Daggett] was exemplary or saintly, yet both were to us old settlers veritable heroes. We loved them for the manifold good they did, and long years ago have buried their foibles. Both were good Masons.⁶⁷

When a young man Johnson moved to Alabama where he soon became a leader. There he served one or more terms in the state legislature. His older children were born in that state.

Johnson moved from Alabama to Shelby County, Texas, at a date which is not definitely known. Thomas J. Johnson, grandson of M. T. Johnson, says that he moved to Texas in 1839; Byrd says that the move was made in 1842.⁶⁸ The earlier date seems most probable for at the time of the Regulator-Moderator feud in that county in 1843 to 1844, Johnson was already an outstanding citizen and took an active part on the side of the Regulators. Johnson's wife, Vienna Johnson, acted as a spy for the Regulators as did Helen Daggett Moorman, Elizabeth White, and Mrs. Nathan Matthews. In September, 1842, Johnson headed a cavalry of twenty-eight men who fought for the Regulators.⁶⁹

Johnson was elected to the Congress of the Republic of Texas from Shelby County in 1844. When the war between the United States and Mexico broke out in 1846, he enlisted for service.

The records show that Middleton T. Johnson served aa a captain in an organization designated Captain Johnson's Company (D) 2nd Mounted Texas Volunteers, in the Mexican War. He was enrolled May 21, 1846, at Shelbyville for six months; was mustered in to date June 25, 1846, at Point Isabel Texas., and was mustered out to date October 2, 1846.

The records also show that Middleton T. Johnson served as Captain in a company designated Capt. Johnson's Company (1st Service), Bell's Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers. He was enrolled April 5, 1847 at Shelby County, Texas, for the War with Mexico: was mustered into service April 5, 1847, at Cartwright Mill, Shelby Co., Texas, and was appointed Lieutenant Colonel July 11, 1848, and mustered out of service February 3, 1849, at Conners Station, Texas.⁷⁰

The date of Johnson's move to the area of Tarrant County is again one of uncertainty. Most references give 1847, and the Indiana Colony is supposed to have stopped at his home on arriving in the county in the winter of that year. His army career at that date, however, would seem to leave him little time for such a move, unless such a move might have been made by his older sons, Tom and Ben Johnson, and his land partner, Archibald Robinson. Thomas J. Johnson, grandson of the colonel, thought the move might have been made in 1848 or 1849.⁷¹ Johnson is said to have been given the lands in recognition for his services in the Mexican War. In the move to the county was the family of Johnson's sister, the C. J. Burford family.

Johnson was commander of the Texas Rangers for the area and his home was headquarters for his soldiers. Soon there was a community built around his home at the Mare le Bone Springs on the little stream called Mill Branch. He established a grist mill, a blacksmith shop, a sorghum mill, and a general merchandise store. Later the mail and stage coach routes came by way of the community which came to be known as Johnson's Station. Johnson had many slaves and his home came nearer being like an old southern plantation than probably any other place in the region. Many prominent and famous men such as Houston, Worth, Throckmorton, and others were frequently entertained lavishly at his home which soon became famous for its hospitality.

Johnson was a man of varied activities. He was instrumental in establishing Fort Worth, donating land for its use; he led in the organization of the county; he made frequent expeditions with his rangers for the protection of the frontier; and he was also active in the removal of the county seat from Birdville to Fort Worth.

In 1851, Col. M. T. Johnson and Gen. Tom J. Rusk, were employed by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company to survey the route of that railroad west of Fort Worth. Accordingly the survey was made for a distance of 200 miles after which, Gen. Rusk went to Washington city, as a Texas senator, and Col. Johnson remained in the service of the Pacific Railroad Company for several years afterwards.⁷²

In 1857 Johnson was a popular candidate for the nomination of governor in the Democratic convention, but Hardin R. Runnels was a more successful candidate. In March, 1860, Johnson was commissioned by Governor Houston to make an expedition into the Indian territory.

. . . . . he sent an expedition into the Indian country under Middleton T. Johnson, but he took no pains to equip it properly. It was mismanaged from the first, and Houston knew that it was mismanaged, yet he made no great complaint. It seems quite probable . . . . that he neither expected nor desired the Johnson expedition to succeed, and that his purpose in sending Johnson out was to hold the Rangers together until he was ready to use them in another way.⁷³

When the trouble over the secession broke out between the North and the South in 1861, Johnson shared the opinions of his friend Sam Houston and voted against the establishment of the Confederacy. Once Texas had joined the Confederacy, however, Johnson supported the cause actively and loyally.

The records indicate that Middleton T. Johnson was active in the organization of a number of Texas regiments in the first years of the Civil War.

On April 17, 1862, he was appointed Colonel, Provisional Army Confederate States, from the State of Texas, to rank from February 15, 1862, and was assigned to the 14th Regiment Texas Cavalry, Confederate States Army, but when the regiment was reorganized May 8, 1862, another was elected Colonel, age 51 years.

At that time he appears to have been in command of a brigade and his appointment as Brigadier General was recommended, but no record of his advancement to that grade has been found.⁷⁴

Johnson's failure to become a brigadier general is explained:

Upon receiving the assurance from President Jeff Davis, that he would be commissioned a Brigadier General, in the Confederate service, if he succeeded in raising a brigade of Texans, Col. Johnson raised a brigade, as required, and accompanied it to Little Rock, Ark., the point of rendezvous, from which point he reported to President Davis, at Richmond, and in due course of time he was surprised and mortified, deeply, when the intelligence came that, the President had gone back on his assurances, and Col. Johnson should not command the brigade of men, which had been gotten together principally through his personal popularity and well-known military renown.⁷⁵

Johnson, after his failure to become a brigadier general in the Confederate army, returned to his home. He is said by some to have participated in the war only indirectly after that time and by others to have carried on a blocade trade for the Confederacy with Liverpool, England, through the channels of Cuba and Mexico.⁷⁶

Johnson's two oldest sons served as captains in the Confederate army. Thomas J. Johnson was killed in the Battle of Black River in Arkansas. His body was brought by train to Houston and then by wagon to Johnson's Station where it was buried in the old family burying ground. Ben H. Johnson returned from the war but died in 1865 as a result of his participation in it. Both sons were outstanding, well educated young men who had served with their father in the ranger service.

After the war was over Johnson was a delegate from Tarrant County to the Constitutional Convention of 1866 which met at Austin. He was a leader of the moderate Unionists in the meetings. He published a circular declaring his opposition to granting any political rights whatever to the negro. He said that the negro should be treated with justice and kindness but that he should be forced to work by uniform laws for the regulation of pauperism, labor, and apprenticeship.⁷⁷

Johnson died from a stroke of apoplexy on May 15, 1866, while still at Austin attending to political duties. He was first buried at Austin, but his body was moved in the early seventies to the family cemetery at Johnson's Station by his sister, Mrs. Burford. He was buried by his wife who had died some years before. Today the exact location of his grave is disputed. The approximate location was marked by the State of Texas during 1936 as a Centennial project.

Johnson had a family of three sons and five daughters. He is said to have educated his family in Europe, but whether all of them, just the boys, or any certain ones, is not definite. M. T. Johnson, Jr., the youngest son, is known to have been educated abroad. This son, a large, handsome man like his father, seems to have been very unlike the older sons in character. He was killed in a quarrel at a mill at Johnson's Station about 1876; he was shot in the back and died a day or two later.

Johnson's five daughters were Mrs. Louisa Brinson, wife of Captain M. J. Brinson; Mrs. Lizzie McLemore, wife of Captain William McLemore; Mrs. Rhoda Record, wife of J. K. P. Record of Dallas; Mrs. Sallie Field, wife of Will Field; and Mrs. Vienna Field, wife of Dr. Sam Field. All have been dead for many years. Johnson was never known to have lived in Fort Worth, though he frequently visited some of his daughters there. M. T. Brinson, grandson of Colonel Johnson, was one of the first boys born in Fort Worth, having been born in one of the soldiers houses in 1853. He died in 1928 and is buried in the family cemetery at Johnson's Station. Thomas J. Johnson, son of Ben H. Johnson, was the only grandchild of Colonel Johnson to carry on the family name. When last heard from he was living in Oklahoma. There are still some families living in the county who are related to Colonel Johnson. Most of them are descendants of his sister, Mrs. Burford, but there are also two great-grandsons, Matt and Joe Coleman, living in Fort Worth.

APPENDIX G

Ephraim Merrell Daggett

On the streets of Fort Worth about 1880 a large, fat, white-haired man might be seen driving a buggy and gray horse. He was so heavy that he weighed the buggy down to the springs. With him there would probably be a small girl, his granddaughter, to whom he would be showing where his farmhouse had been thirty-five years before. His pasture land had been cut into streets and blocks, which now contained a few buildings. Everyone on the street spoke to Pappy Daggett, for they knew him by that name rather than the longer Ephraim Merrell Daggett. The site of his farmhouse is now the busy corner of Ninth and Main Streets and his pasture land is all sidewalks and pavement, but he would be pleased to see the large city which he had hoped to see.⁷⁸

Ephraim Merrell Daggett was born in Queenstown, Canada, about eight miles west of Niagra [sic] Falls, on June 3, 1810, just before the war on the seas. During the War of 1812 the sympathies of many of the frontier Canadians were enlisted in favor of the Americans; many of them left Canada with their families, took their abode on American soil, and joined the American forces under General Brown. Among these was young Eph's father, who served faithfully the American government during the remaining trouble. The property of those who left Canada and joined the American army was confiscated by the British government.

After the close of the war the government of the United States recognized the services of the Canadian volunteers by giving them lands in Indiana, then a strictly frontier country. Many of the Canadians moved to Indiana; among them were the Daggetts. Young Eph, who was ten years old when the family moved to Indiana, grew up to manhood with the little education, which the frontier country afforded. The portion of Indiana, where the family settled near Terre Haute, was largely occupied by Indians and here be became thoroughly acquainted with the Indian conditions. In 1833 he went to the, then, small trading post of Chicago where for three years he carried on successful trade with the Indians. While in Chicago Daggett had a severe attack of rheumatism. His physician advised a more southern and warmer climate. As Texas had always attracted him and his father desired greatly to see it, the family set out for Texas. They landed in Shreveport in the fall of 1836 and located in Shelby County, Texas, the following April.

The conditions in Shelby County were quite different from those in Indiana. Religion, ways of living, education, and even thoughts seemed to be unlike those of their former home, but the family set about to build a new home. Daggett and his brothers worked very hard on their farm.

In this community the Daggetts did so manage their personal affairs as to command the confidence and respect of all classes, until the celebrated feud broke out between the Regulators and the Moderators, when it became an actual necessity to take sides with one or the other of these parties. The Daggetts enrolled themselves on the side of the Regulators. Here it was that Eph Daggett displayed more than ordinary sense and bravery. His two brothers, Charles and Henry, also added to the ranks of the Regulator forces, did their full share in the endeavors to rid the country of that class of man and desperadoes whose aim and object were unmistakably fraud, speculation, and plunder, and all of this under the guise of law and order. Counterfeiting, theft, robbery, and murder were openly defended and screened by those in the high places and the courts of the country were permeated as to afford no sort of protection. Under this state of affairs the Regulators were organized and extermination commenced.

The dashing leader of the Regulators was Colonel Watt Moorman, who controlled not only public affairs, but also the grand jury, for whenever that body met Watt managed to get enough men on the panel to prevent any indictments against the Regulators. He made life miserable for the Moderators who, being of the weaker party at that time, remained quiet and waited.

For some months Watt had been courting Helen Mar Daggett, sister of Eph Daggett; Helen was sprightly and handsome and was esteemed throughout the community. As her family had sided with the Regulators it was only natural that she should take a deep interest in the adventures of the colonel. Many attempted to dissuade her from keeping company with Moorman. They were married In 1844.⁷⁹

Later when Colonel Cravens and the Moderators were camped near Shelbyville, they saw a woman riding into their camp on horseback. They soon recognized her as Moorman's wife and crowded around her. She complained to Cravens that she had been fired on near the camp; she also said that she believed them to be honorable men and that he would not allow it to happen again. He assured her that it would not. Helen rode away and just as she passed the sentry post, shots were fired on the Moderators. Then Cravens realized that Helen Moorman had distracted his men while her husband's army advanced. The Moderators managed to scatter and some saved themselves.

Soon Mexico was making every attempt to conquer the Republic of Texas and Texas was energetically and desperately making resistance. Daggett and his brother Charles enlisted in the Texas army. Daggett joined the regiment of Colonel John Hay; in this service he served as captain, making a judicious but at the same time a dashing officer. With his company he succeeded in capturing Santa Anna's chief aide, General Valentia, who was not hated as was his superior officer, but who had a great power among the enemy. For this service Captain Daggett received the thanks of Colonel Hays and General Houston.

One night Captain Daggett's company came upon a camp of Mexicans with whom was General Santa Anna, at that time in bed. The alarm was given and the haughty Santa Anna managed to get away, but he was bareheaded and coatless, his hat and coat falling into the hands of the captain. The great Mexican sent a courier to Daggett to give him a sum of money something in excess of a thousand dollars 1f he would return the coat with its elegant trappings and the cap of the general. Daggett refused the offer, reported the capture, and turned over the trophies to his superior officers.

Captain Daggett was next sent to operate against Taranta, chief of a band of cut-throats, whom he met in two engagements, in both of which he drove the enemy back, killed several, and made a number of prisoners. He did not reach the City of Mexico until December of 1847. Somehow Captain Daggett came into possession of a silver wash basin belonging to Santa Anna; he brought this home with him and it is now in the museum of the Carnegie Library of Fort Worth. In 1855, when General Sam Houston was visiting in Fort Worth, he asked Daggett to dress his leg, which was wounded at the Battle of San Jacinto, using the silver basin taken from General Santa Anna by Daggett at the Battle of Buena Vista.

Captain Daggett came to western Texas in 1849, but did not move his family until 1854. He settled on a farm which is now part of the business district of Fort Worth. In time he became one of Fort Worth's leading citizens. When it looked dark for Fort Worth he was always cheerful and confident that it would become the city it is today.

Tarrant County was created by the Legislature in December, 1849, and the county seat located at Birdville. The spirit of conquest was strong in the veins of the early settlers, and at this instance Daggett and others induced the legislature to permit an election to decide upon the county seat. An election was held with Fort Worth winning, but the voting was not considered legitimate. The question was not settled until about 1860 when Fort Worth had a large enough population to make good its claim for the county seat. Eph and Charles Daggett and other citizens guaranteed the building of the courthouse in 1860, but the Civil War broke out and it was not finished until 1866.

Fort Worth's leading citizen was a jovial and happy person. He was very large, weighing about two hundred and seventy-five pounds. Among his best friends was Dr. Mansell Matthews, who weighed almost as much ag Daggett. Dr. Matthews was a highly educated physician, of courtly presence, a Christian preacher without a superior in all the South. He had been a county judge of Red River County and president of the Board of Land Commissioners. He and Daggett belonged to the Masonic chapter in Fort Worth. Matthews was a Union man during the war, too outspoken for his own personal safety. He was not a politician; therefore, he made no secret of his Union sentiments although he loved the South. As sectional hatred intensified, the doctor's real troubles began. Civil government existed in name only on the frontier.

The high vigilance committee court was held in Gainesville, Cook County, and Dr. Matthews was, by its copias, imprisoned there for trial, charged with treason to the Confederate States of America, and was sentenced to death. Having seen many prisoners no more guilty than himself hanged in view of his prison, Dr. Matthews sent for his friend, Eph Daggett, who talked for a long time in behalf of his friend. He, Daggett, said that if they hanged Matthews they must hang him also. Finally the court acquitted the prisoner, but punished him by imprisonment for three days and further stated that he was not to hear of his acquittal. Daggett was allowed to see him but only in the presence of the death guard; he was to be given no opportunity to tell Matthews of his acquittal. Daggett talked for two hours on the Bible, which was very unusual for him. The guard became tired and inattentive. Daggett asked Matthews what verse in the Bible afforded him the most comfort at that time, and in turn the doctor asked Daggett the same question, to which the latter replied, "Fret not thy gizzard and frizzle not thy whirligig, thou soul art saved." Thus the doctor learned that his life was saved.

In 1872, Captain Daggett, Major K. M. Van Zandt, T. J. Jennings, and Judge H. G. Hendricks gave three hundred and twenty acres of land to the Texas and Pacific Railroad if it would build into the city. Daggett also gave donations of land to other companies. He was at various times a merchant, cotton planter, and cattle raiser, and he served two terms in the Texas Legislature. A Unitarian in belief; he loved the "mother church" and gave to the Catholics the land for their first stone church building. In politics he acted with the Democrats until 1878 when he favored the Greenback cause and was an unsuccessful candidate for Congress on that ticket. Daggett was an expert with a rifle or six shooter in his younger days; wrestling was one of his favorite sports; he was also fond of music and dancing.

When Fort Worth began to grow, a fire engine was brought to the city in 1876. This first fire engine was named the E. M. Daggett in his honor. One of the public schools in Fort Worth today is named for him and a street in the city also bears his name.

Daggett married Faribo Hays in Indiana 12 1834; they had one son, Ephraim Beck Daggett. Young Daggett was left in Missouri with some friends when his father first came to Texas. When he was about nine years old he ran away to come to Texas, but was taken back to Missouri. After several attempts to run away, he was finally allowed to come to his father, accompanied by a negro manservant.

E. M. Daggett was married a second time to Mrs. Caroline Adams, a widow, in Shelbyville in 1842. When Daggett moved his family to Fort Worth in 1854, in the group were his wife, his young son, his brother Charles, and his sister, Helen Moorman, whose husband had been assassinated in 1850. Another brother, Henry, was in the mercantile business in Fort Worth. The three brothers continued to live in Fort Worth for many years; Charles having eight children, Henry two, and Eph one, making a large group of descendants, many of whom are still living in Fort Worth. Daggett died in 1883 when all classes and colors mourned his loss and a vast concourse attended his funeral.

APPENDIX H

The following is a list of men who were members of Captain William Quaile's Company of Mounted Riflemen, State Volunteers, which was organized in June, 1861; it was the first company to leave Tarrant County, though it is doubtful if all the men were residents of the county. Quaile was later promoted to the rank of colonel. His name is often found spelled Quayle.

Captain:
William Quaile

Lieutenants:
Robert R. Hunt
Joseph Calloway
A. B. Grant

Sergeants:
Thomas Berry
James E. Moore
Thomas Purcell
Joe H. Simmons
Isaac J. Curry

Corporals:
William R. Allen
William L. Boyd
David Mason
Lorenzo Newton

Privates:
Reasom L. Akers
George A. Akers
Doc Akers
I. F. Archer
Alex Anderson
Thong Armstrong
William H. Allison
Peter M. Bush
Amos Burgoon
David Boaz
Richard Boaz
Quinton Booth
Thomas L. Barcroft
D. J. Bradly
W. J. Barnhill
W. E. Carlton
David Cate
Smith Cummings
Gus Cread
Thomas H. Cox
William Cox
G. W. Cread
F. O. Clair
F. M. Dyer
John S. Dunn
Green Durham
Poke Dodson
Solon Dunn
Isaac P. Davis
J. N. Dodson
Ransom L. Dean
Mark Elliston
John S. Estill
Ed L. Eckhardt
G. F. Ellis
John Friend
W. H. Fisher
Robert W. Fisher
Robert W. Fisher
James H. Frogge
William Greenup
Philip Greenup
W. S. Gray
John Grimes
A. M. Hightower
Joe D. Henry
Hardy S. Homan
R. W. Harrison
John Hudgens
Richard Hayworth
J. W. Hutton
V. J. Hutton
Waiter L. Jones
John King
S. D. King
Edmond King
Willis Lavender
Levi Leonard
Robert Lanham
Walter N. Leake
Robert Laney
Francis M. Lewis
John Lafon
_______ Lafon
James McDaniel
W. D. McDaniel
M. McDaniels
J. L. Moorehead
_______ Neil
Thomas Patton
G. C. Pearsoll
G. W. Pointer
L. H. Pennington
John M. Parish
Addison Perry
J. J. Phillips
Reuben B. Rogers
George Roach
E. P. Richardson
Sylvester Record
Jesse Rogers
Ransom Russell
William M. Robinson
J. B. Sloan
E. A. Shults
J. R. Shaw
Alonzo Stevenson
Ed Syfort
John L. Tinsley
W. R. Trice
James Turner
James Thomas
William Tennehill
William L. Tandy
N. W. Tolle
J. H. Tinsley
Terrell Woodson
Alexander White

The following is the muster roll of the Tarrant County Rifles. The company was organized in 1862 by Dr. Carroll M. Peak who was injured in a fall from his horse shortly before the company left for the war.

Captain:
Dr. C. M. Peak

Lieutenants:
W. O. Yantis
J. Earl

Orderly Sergeant:
G. Boone

Corporals:
T. M. Matthews
P. G. Davis
J. Garathy

Surgeon:
Dr. W. P. Burts

Privates:
Thomas J. Johnson
S. A. Addington
J. W. Asbury
William Randall
H. C. Johnson
F. W. Adams
J. P. Alford
J. B. Andrews
J. Earle
A. S. Hall
W. C. Hall
H. C. Holloway
H. Johnson
L. G. Jones
J. M. Murchison
W. M. McKee
Jacob Samuel
John W. Steinbeck
W. J. Terry
E. A. Dickson
A. N. Denton
J. Eggleston
C. G. Payne
H. B. Catlett
A. N. C. Lavender
James D. Martin
Lafayette Marchbanks
Leigh Oldham
Solomon D. Poer
John Peter Smith
C. A. Sanders
W. R. Loving
George Boone
M. D. Kennedy
Marcus Dicks
A. H. Harris
P. B. Boyd
G. G. Hoffman
N. M. Coker
Frank Wilcox
R. S. Wright
John R. Addington
David Snow
Nathaniel Terry, Jr.
R. Creswell
W. Crouch
Gideon Nance
J. B. Sanders
_______ McMillan

Ben H. Johnson was later made a first lieutenant of this company and H. B. Catlett was made second lieutenant. Both Thomas J. and Ben H. Johnson were made captains at a later date.

Many of the members of this company sent substitutes to the war. Among these were Dr. W. P. Burts, P. G. Davis, John R. Garaghty, W. O. Yantis, George Boone, and Thomas M. Matthews.

The following is a list of the members of Company D, Ninth Texas Cavalry, Ross Brigade. The captain was M. J. Brinson; the other officers are not known, except by notations found by the names. This company was organized in September, 1861, and was the second company to leave the county. The list is given with the notations found by the names as they appeared in the files of Mrs. Lake.

1. Antone: A Mexican who served throughout the war.
2. Bunk Adams
3. Dock Andrews: Received slight wounds in battle.
4. Carter Adams: Withdrew after twelve months.
5. Dart Anderson: Withdrew after twelve months, over age.
6. Burt Anderson: Withdrew after twelve months.
7. Captain M. J. Brinson: Withdrew after twelve months.
8. Fred Brinson: Died at Corinth, Mississippi, Sept., 1862.
9. Leroy Beavers
10. Jim Baily
11. _______ Bowlin: Lost in Battle, Corinth, Mississippi.
12. T. S. Coleman: Wounded at Vicksburg, Mississippi, 1863.
13. Avery Grouch: Killed in battle, 1864.
14. Joe Boggs Crow: Killed in Indian Territory, 1861.
15. Lieutenant J. M. Ditto
16. Tom Dalton: Died at Corinth, Mississipp1, 1862.
17. Jasper Dalton: Died at Clarksville, Arkansas, 1862.
18. Joe Dalton: Died at Corinth, 1868.
19. _______ Estis: Died at headquarters, 1861.
20. Meredith Estis: Quit in short time.
21. Louis Finger: Quit at end of year.
22. Jasper Fletcher: Quit.
23. Lieutenant George Griscomb
24. Charley Goodwin: Died at Corinth, 1862.
25. Will Goodwin: Killed at Jonesboro, Arkansas, 1864.
26. Will Goin
27. Jerry Gaither
28. Will Gilliam
29. Lieutenant Watson P. Hicks: Killed at Thompson Station, Tennessee, 1863.
30. Tom Hagood
31. Ben Hagood
32. Rev. T. A. Ish: Quit at end of year, over age.
33. An Irishman: No name given; quit, 1863.
34. Lieutenant (Captain) Jim Kelley: Killed at Corinth, 1863.
35. _______ Kirkwood: Quit.
36. _______ Kirkwood: Quit.
37. Henry Kemble: Lost at Corinth, died, 1862.
38. _______ Kemble: Died at Corinth, 1862.
39. John Kiser: Wagoner.
40. Captain Bill McLemore: Slight wounds.
41. John T. McLemore
43. _______ Manning: lost at Corinth, 1862.
43. Manning: Lost at Corinth, 1862.
44. J. H. Martin
45. Henry Myers: Quit, 1863.
46. John McGinnis
47. Jim O'Neal: Killed in Mississippi, 1863.
48. A. M. Perkins: Slight wounds, came home.
49. Tom Perkins: Slight wounds, came home.
50. Lee Perkins: Slight wounds, came home.
51. Green Perry: Wounded at Corinth, came home.
52. Sam Petty
53. Dan Parker: Quit at end of year, over age.
54. _______ Pickens: Quit at end of year, over age.
55. Bill Reece: Slight wounds, came home.
56. Lieutenant Jim Smith
57. _______ Solee
58. Joe Tolliver
59. Jim Turner: Slight wounds, came home.
60. Hugh Taylor: Died at Vicksburg, 1863.
61. Tom Taylor
62. Lieutenant Tom Utley: Quit at end of year.
63. Albert Wright
64. Dick Wright
65. Jim Wright
66. J. A. Watson
67. John H. Watson: Twice wounded, came home.
68. Harrison Weaver: Wounded at Corinth, came home.
69. James Wilson: Wounded at Elk Horn, came home.
70. John Witherington: Transferred to another company.⁸⁰

APPENDIX I

Arlington Texas
3-13-25

Mrs Will F Lake
Your letter was recd contents noted They are 3 or 4 people here now that was here when the Civil war started and ended Mrs. Joe Toliver an John Watson went in my fathers company They are the only two left that I know of also the old Lady Ramsey 92 years old still lives here and J. H. Doc Adington lived in Fort Worth when the war started and ended I was born in Fort Worth 1853 in soldiers houses of old fort--M. D. L. but lived here on the old Brinson farm when the town was started and ended I guess I was the first boy born in the Town of Fort Worth I know one or two that was born in the county that was a little older than I was They were Cas Edwards Jake Farmer and Heny Daggett The two latter are dead any information I can give you I will be glad to do so

Very Respt
M. T. Brinson

I found one more
W. W Purkins
live on Village Creek
He get his mail here⁸¹

APPENDIX J

Interview with Mrs. John S. Fort, May, 1938

Mrs. John S. Fort, who was Sallie Watson before her marriage, is the daughter of Patrick A. Watson, one of the earliest settlers in Tarrant County. Watson came to Texas in 1845 from North Carolina and received a headright from the Peters Land Company. Mrs. Fort and her brother, P. A. Watson, Jr., live in a house built about 1882 on the outskirts of Arlington, just back of the Eastern Star Home. The location was first a part of Johnson's Station; later it was known as Watson's Community, and today it is a part of Arlington.

When Mrs. Fort was a child the center of the community was at Johnson's house about seven miles distant. The post office, stores, and most of the other community centers were there, excepting the school and Sunday School, which were located on Watson's property near her home. Mrs. Fort has the Sunday School secretary's book for the years it was known as the Union Sunday School. M. T. Johnson and his family were members there. John H. Watson was secretary there for several years. The Sunday School disbanded during the Civil War years. The school was taught by A. M. Elmore.

None of the Indians which Mrs. Fort ever saw were wild Indians and she can remember no attacks. Several scares were aroused, however, and she can remember seeing a man come riding over the prairies from Fort Worth wildly shouting a warning of Indians, but the Indians never came. This was sometime in the sixties.

Two of Mrs. Fort's brothers, John H. and James A. Watson served in the Civil War. A friend, John Martin, whom they met in the army, came home with them and made his home in the community.

When Mrs. Fort was quite young Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson died at Austin while attending a convention in 1866. She does not remember a great deal about him personally. He was first buried at Austin, but some time in the early seventies his body was disinterred and brought to Tarrant County. The body was brought one evening to the home of his sister, Mrs. Burford, and buried next day in the family cemetery near his old home. Mrs. Fort went to the funeral there and remembers leaning against a brick wall of some type during the services. Since the exact location of Johnson's grave is disputed, this strengthens the side of those who say that the state marker is placed in as nearly correct location as possible. Some of the Johnson relatives say that the graves marked by the bricks are those of Johnson, his wife, and M. T. Johnson, Jr. Others say that the bricks were there many years before Johnson was buried.

Wagons loaded with buffalo hides and meat passed the Watson home in the seventies. The buffaloes were killed in Erath County where they were still plentiful. But by 1880 the wagons were becoming more and more infrequent, for the buffaloes were being rapidly destroyed. The hides of the animals brought a good price.

Haytersville, the name first given to Arlington was named in honor of the Reverend A. S. Hayter from Tennessee, a neighbor of the Watson family. When the communities separated from Johnson's Station in the 1870s, the Watson family got their mail at the Haytersville post office.

Mrs. Fort was extremely helpful in pointing out pioneer places in the county and in giving a list of pioneers. She was also able to give incidents and correct spelling for the names of many of the pioneers. She was personally acquainted with almost all of the early residents of Johnson's Station.

Interview with T. C. Irby, May, 1938

T. C. Irby, a retired cattleman, who has recently moved to Corsicana, Texas, from Fort Worth, was just beginning his interest in the cattle industry after the Civil War. He had been too young to go to the war, but he remembers clearly the home events of the time. Living in Weatherford, in Parker County, Irby's knowledge of Tarrant County came from his interest in the cattle industry and Fort Worth's position in that industry. He went up the Old Chisholm Trail several times.

During the Civil War few men were left at home to ride the range and tend the cattle, so the stock were allowed to roam the range as best they might and gradually they drifted to south Texas where the climate was milder and the food more plentiful. In the years following the war the former owners reclaimed as many as possible, but it was a perfectly legitimate business for a man to go and round up an unbranded lot of cattle, put his own brand on them, and start in the ranching business. Ranch lands could be had for the asking from the public domain of Texas; so a young man could start in business with only his horse and saddle for capital. Texas was the place for a young man in those days.

The reconstruction period brought a lot of riffraff and a lot of honest citizens who had either come "for their health" or because of the greater opportunities to be found in Texas. Large numbers used names which were known not to be their own. They even married and brought up families of respectable citizens under those assumed names. It was an unspoken, but widely acknowledged, law of the frontier that a man's past was his own business.

The cowboy was generally a hard-working, adventurous person who played as hard as he worked. Often he would work a whole year, only to gamble away his wages in a single night. This was particularly true when the cowboy was paid at the end of the trail.

In the days after the war both Weatherford and Fort Worth were suffering from growing pains, but Fort Worth had greater advantages. The Weatherford citizens objected so much to reconstruction policies that Union soldiers were stationed in the town to keep order. This created a constant tension. Weatherford's leading citizens were determined to keep their town clean and in so doing they greatly impaired the town's chances of ever becoming a city, for the cowboys soon made Fort Worth their rendezvous and the railroad men preferred the freer town. Fort Worth was in those days "wide open." There were plenty of saloons, ample opportunity for gambling, and other inducements to bring the cowboys to the town. Shooting scrapes, though not uncommon, were not so frequent as story books leave the impression. Many of the cowboys were "tough customers."

Irby drove a herd of cattle to Fort Worth the first year that the railroads came. He came in from Parker County, drove his cattle through what is now Forest Park, and then went across the open prairies for miles to the depot which was located near the present site of the T. & P. Station. When he got to the railroad an unknown man, possibly one of the Daggetts, who was interested in going into the cattle business, offered him an area of land per head of cattle in the vicinity of the depot. Irby later regretted not having taken advantage of the offer.

In the 1870's Irby went to west Texas where he helped lay out the site of the town of Abilene, Later he became a prominent ranchman in the vicinity of Graham, Texas.

Interview with Mrs. Sallie Hodges McKnight, June, 1938

Mrs. Sallie Hodges McKnight of Mansfield wrote an article for the Tarrant County Scrapbook at the Fort Worth Carnegie Library entitled "The Southeast Corner of Tarrant County before the Civil War." She got the most of her material from papers in the possession of Mrs. Ragland, a great niece of Colonel M. T. Johnson.

Mrs. McKnight told of an incident which happened In Tarrant County before the Battle of Village Creek. Colonel Jesse Watkins, an uncle of Dr. McKnight, was sent with an interpreter by General Houston to meet with the Indians on Village Creek. He arrived during a war dance and, against the advice of his interpreter, went into the village. He was immediately captured by the Indians and tortured and burned.

José Maria, who wore a garnet ring in his nose, was chief of all the Indians throughout the area, and though generally fair and friendly with the whites, he fought for the rights of his people.

Mrs. McKnight's information on Colonel Johnson was in most points the same as found in other sources. She, too, had had the information that he blocaded for the Confederacy, educated his children abroad, had made a treaty with the Indians for his land, and that he had been given that land for his services in the Mexican War. She had heard that there was a trading post located at the site prior to Johnson's residence at the Fossil Springs.

Interview with S. R. Perry, June, 1938

S. R. Perry of Arlington is a descendant of Colonel M. T. Johnson's sister, Mrs. Burford. He was too young to remember much of Johnson's Station as it was in its greatest importance.

Perry was present as a little boy at the mill when M. T. Johnson, Jr. was killed in the latter part of the seventies. Johnson, who lived near the mill, had come on business and got into a dispute with some men there. One of the men shot him in the back just where his suspenders crossed. He died several days later. Perry described Johnson as being a very large man with a long beard.

Perry also told of the burial of Tom Johnson in the family cemetery. The body was brought by train to Houston from Arkansas. It was hauled from Houston to Johnson's Station by wagon. Tom Johnson was killed during the Civil War.

Interview with Mr. and Mrs. John F. Swayne, May, 1938

John F. Swayne is the oldest living county or city officer. He is also one of the oldest alumni of Washington and Lee University, having attended there when it was known as Washington College and Robert E. Lee was president. Swayne is the proud possessor of a slip excusing him from class attendance signed by Lee.

Fort Worth was a small frontier town when Swayne arrived by horseback in 1872. On April 3, 1873 he was elected city secretary. He has since then held many offices of public trust.

A man's word was as good as his bond in those days. Dave S. Terrell, son of Edmund S. Terrell, sold his cattle in Kansas one season in the early seventies. He put the money in his saddle bags and rode home to Fort Worth. On his arrival in town he unsaddled his horse and turned it loose to graze, threw his saddle bags around a post in a village store and made a tour of the town to visit with his friends. When he returned his saddle bags remained intact where he had left them. The people of the town never even locked their doors in those days.

The argument about which was the oldest white boy born in Fort Worth was also discussed by Swayne. He mentioned the fact that Rowan Tucker was born in Fort Worth in 1855, the year before Howard Peak was born. There were also several others who claimed the honor and many disputes about it. Jake Farmer was the first white boy born in the county. The first girl born in the county was Mattie Ellen Gilmore, daughter of Seburn Gilmore, who was born in 1849. She later became Mrs. Charles Mitchell.

Mrs. Swayne was Mae Hendricks, daughter of H. G. Hendricks. Hendricks had come to Tarrant County in the 1850's and had become one of the leading citizens. He gave lands to the railroads to get them to build into Fort Worth. Mrs. Swayne knew M. T. Johnson, Jr., and said that he was very fond of a good time and that he was educated in Europe.

Interview with W. O. De Wees, July, 1938

W. O. De Wees is the son of Joseph Wilson De Wees, a pioneer settler in north Texas. The elder De Wees settled in Wise County, though a part of his farm lay over the boundary in Tarrant County.

J. W. De Wees was born in Kentucky on September 11, 1838, but his family moved to Illinois about 1840. In 1857 when a wagon train made up to come to Texas, the boy persuaded his father to allow him to accompany it. He was given a silver dollar to cover his expenses on the trip. He made his way, however, by acting as a chore boy for the train, and was able to arrive in Texas with his dollar intact. The party crossed the Red River near Sherman, made several camps while looking for a location, and a number went back without even unpacking their wagons.

De Wees remained in Texas. He soon made friends with Nathan Huff In Wise County and the Ledbetters in Dallas County, but he did not settle down until after the Civil War. When the war broke out he went to San Antonio and enlisted in the Confederate Army, knowing that his father had favored that side.

He was sent with the Sibley Expedition to hold New Mexico for the Confederacy. The men suffered many hardships while crossing the desert lands of western Texas. De Wees fought in the battles at Fort Sheldon and Glorietta. Colonel Sibley of the Confederate army was a brother-in-law of Colonel Canning of the Union army, and between battles and encounters the two visited one another and were very friendly. This made Sibley's men distrustful, so they demanded a return to Texas.

De Wees was then sent to Louisiana. Here he fought there in battles in which he had friends and relatives on the Union side. He was also with General Banks when the North was defeated in its efforts to cut Texas off from the rest of the Confederacy. He participated in the recapture of Galveston by the South.

After the war De Wees returned to Wise County where he married Sarah Elizabeth Huff, daughter of Nathan Huff. They were the parents of eleven children. De Wees chose one hundred and sixty acres and made his claim to the state for the land; later he bought an adjoining strip of land in Tarrant County.

For a number of years De Wees freighted lumber and other commodities by ox wagon from Jefferson, Texas, and occasionally from Houston. While freighting he would take a pony with him on the first day of the trip and that night ride home. The next morning he would ride the pony to where he had left his oxen and turn the pony loose to return home.

About 1872 De Wees made a trip by wagon to his old home in Illinois. His wife never heard from him from the time he left until he returned, though he had written several times.

The De Wees family, like all other pioneer families, raised almost everything that was eaten at home, as well as a great deal of what they wore. Some few articles such as coffee and white sugar were store bought. Cooking was done over the fireplace. In the fall of the year for many years the pioneer families of the region would go to Erath and other counties to the west to hunt the buffaloes for a supply of meat and hides. During the summer when meat was hard to keep, several families in the community would form a beef club, each taking its turn in butchering a beef for the group. Jerked or dried meat was also used in the summer. In winter each family provided for his own meat. The De Wees family had their own sorghum mill.

The coffee which was bought at the store was usually gree. It was brought home, roasted, and ground for use in a coffee mill. Coffee was sweetened with sorghum syrup and the brown sugar which would form at the bottom of the sorghum keg. Corn and wheat were usually brought twenty miles to Fort Worth to be ground. The trip to Fort Worth could be made in two days if the roads were in good condition; in bad weather a camp had to be made enroute. McBride's wagon yard was the most popular place in Fort Worth to stop for the night.

The furniture of the pioneer home generally consisted of the necessities only. A bed was often built into one corner of the wall with cowhide strips to hold up the straw beds which were used for mattresses. Feather beds were in popular use in the pioneer home. A few home made bed steads and chairs were also necessities. These articles were usually made by some more skilled member of the community. Pecan wood chairs with rawhide seats were very serviceable.

When a pioneer couple married, they were presented with featherbeds and quilts by both parents and as much furniture as could be spared. They could also expect to get half a dozen chickens, a pig or two; and a cow. The groom, if he were lucky, would receive a horse from his father.

APPENDIX K

Between the Fort Worth airport and the Sinclair oil refinery, near the highway, is what remains of a rock tomb which has only recently been destroyed. It was once the tomb of a Tarrant County pioneer, William McKee, who loved his land so well that he hated the thought of leaving it even in death. He was buried there about 1882.

At McKee's death he requested that a neighbor visit his tomb several times a year and play his favorite tunes on a fiddle. This neighbor, Tom Gary, took the request in good faith and complied with it as long as he was able.

McKee's body and that of his wife, Helen Daggett Moormen McKee, were removed to a local cemetery after the tomb was robbed; a thief had been lured by the silver on the caskets.

APPENDIX L

[Letterhead reading
THOS. B. LOVE
Lawyer
Republic Bank Building
Dallas, Texas, letter dated July 25, 1938]

Miss Verna Berrong,
1828 Fairmount Avenue,
Fort Worth, Texas.

Dear Miss Berrong:

Replying to your note of July 22nd:

All I have been able to learn about the matter referred to is contained in the Memoirs of John H. Reagan, a book which you can undoubtedly get in the Fort Worth Library. I haven't the volume before me as mine was burned with my home some years ago; but you will find that he tells of Sam Houston, President of the Texas Republic at Crockett at Houston's request and accompanying him as a guide to the Grapevine Springs where he held a conference with the Indians in 1843. I am enclosing copy of a letter I wrote Miss Smither, the Archivist of the State Library at Austin in April, 1937, and copies of two letters from her which contain what Reagan reports in his book, which is all that I have been able to find on the subject.

My opinion at this time is that undoubtedly this treaty was signed at Bird's Fort; and I do not think there was but one such treaty; and from reading Judge Reagan's book I have no doubt that the conference preceding the signing of the treaty took place at Grapevine Springs, which is immediately adjacent to Coppell in Dallas County. Hoping this may be of some service to you, I am

Sincerely yours,
Thos B Love

TBL/e
Encls.

[Letter dated April 28, 1937]

Miss Harriet Smither, Archivist,
State Library,
Austin, Texas.

Dear Miss Smither:

I note in Gammel's Laws a Treaty of Peace with the Indians, proclaimed by Anson Jones as President, (See Vol. a, Gammel's Laws, Pages 1191 to 1196) which recites that it was "concluded and signed at Teh-wah-karro Creek, on the 9th day of October, 1844".

Can you tell me where Teh-wah-karro Creek is or was located; and was this treaty the result of the conference which President Sam Houston journeyed to Grapevine Springs to iniate [sic] in 1843?

Thanking you for this information, and with kind regards, I am

Very truly yours,
Thos. B. Love

TBL/e

[Letterhead reading
TEXAS LIBRARY AND HISTORICAL COMMISSION
STATE LIBRARY, AUSTIN, letter dated April 30, 1937]

Hon. Thomas B. Love
Republic Bank Blg.
Dallas, Texas

My dear Senator Love:

The treaty which resulted from the conference at Grapevine Springs in 1843 was signed on September 29th of that year. The treaty signed at Tahuacarro Creek in October, 1844 resulted from a council held near Torrey's Trading Post in September, 1844. Torrey's was near the mouth of Tahuacarro Creek which empties into the Brazos a little below the Waco village.

Sincerely yours,
Harriet Smither
Archivist

HS:ce

[Letter dated May 11, 1937]

Hon. Thomas B. Love
Republic Bank Building
Dallas, Texas

My dear Senator Love:

Concerning the treaty signed at Bird's Fort on the Trinity I quote the following:

"On March, 31, 1843, the different parties signed an agreement to hold a Grand Council with representatives from Texas, and from all the Indian tribes and from the United States. The time and place of this meeting was to be agreed on later. Its purpose should be to conclude a definite and permanent treaty of peace and friendship between the Republic of Texas and all the Indians residing within or near its borders. In the meantime all hostilities should cease. Those Indians who wished might trade at the Trading House on the Brazos River, and might also plant corn at any place north of this Trading House until a permanent line could be established. In case a treaty was concluded at the Grand Council both parties promised to deliver all prisoners at that time. Six months after this agreement was signed, the Grand Council convened at Bird's Fort on the Trinity River. No treaty thus far made with the Indians was of such far reaching importance as that signed by the commissioners of Texas and representatives from the Indian tribes on September 29, 1843." Muckleroy, "The Indian Policy of the Republic of Texas" in Southwestern Historical Quarterly, XXVI, 187-8.

Sincerely Yours,
Harriet Smither
Archivist

HS:ce

APPENDIX M

The following list of pioneers was made from several sources: a list made by Howard Peak and Merida Ellis to be found in the Tarrant County Scrapbook at the Fort Worth Carnegie Library, the secretary's book of the old Union Sunday School in the possession of Mrs. John S. Fort of Arlington, the tombstones of various old cemeteries throughout the county, and from documents and articles written on the history of Tarrant County. The list is not complete, for many of the stones were not legible and the documents could not furnish a complete list. It is probable that many on the list are duplications because of errors in initials and the use of familiar titles rather than the persons' actual names. Wherever possible the spelling of the names has been carefully checked.

Adams, Bunt (Bunk)
Adams, Carter
Adams, Frank W.
Addington, J. R.
Addington, "Parson"
Addington, S. S.
Akers, Doc
Akers, George A.
Akers, John
Akers, Reasom L.
Akers, Thomas
Alford, B. M.
Alford, James P.
Allen, G. W.
Allen, J. G.
Allen, James K.
Allen, Robert G.
Allen, William Terry
Anderson, Abe
Anderson, Alex
Anderson, Burt
Anderson, Dart
Anderson, M. H.
Alverson, H. B.
Anderson, William
Andrews, Albert C.
Andrews, A. T.
Andrews, B. F.
Andrews, Bolls
Andrews, J. B.
Andrews, T. H.
Andrews, T. J.
Archer, I. F.
Arnold, Major Ripley A.
Asbury, Jeremiah W.
Ayres, J. H.
Ayres, Benjamin P.

Back, Jacob
Bailey, Jim
Baker, Charles
Ball, F. W.
Bamberg, _______
Barcroft, Daniel
Barkeley, Dr. B. F.
Barkeley, Lon
Barnes, Larkin
Barnes, Josiah
Barnes, W. D.
Barr, John W.
Bates, E. A.
Beall, Warren
Beard, A. W.
Beard, J. J.
Beard, J. T.
Beckham, , Robert E.
Bedford, Ben
Beeman, John
Bennett, Hamilton
Berliner, _______
Bird, Jonathan
Blackwell, Hiram
Blakeney, A.
Blount, Jerome
Boaz, David
Boaz, Richard
Boaz, W. J.
Bold, Lieutenant John
Bomford, Captain J. B.
Boone, George
Boone, John
Booth, Ben
Bosson, William
Bostwick, Charles Hanson
Bowlin, _______
Boyd, P. B.
Boyd, William L.
Bradner, James W.
Bradshaw, A. J.
Bratton, Richard
Brewer, William
Brinson, Fred
Brinson, Captain M. J.
Brimson, M. T.
Brooks, Malone
Brown, M. E.
Brinson, T. A.
Bosman, J. C.
Brizentine, William
Brown, D. V.
Brown, Horatio
Brown, Lewis H.
Brown, Mrs. Ruth
Brown, T. E.
Burford, A. F.
Burford, C. J.
Burford, William
Burgoon, Charles
Burk, Francis
Burnett, Moses
Burns, W. P.
Bursey, John
Burton, Noel
Burts, Dr. W. T.
Byars, Nicholas
Byrd, J. A.

Caldron, John
Calloway, Hiram
Calloway, J. W.
Cambrell, John C.
Cameron, E. W.
Cameron, N. J.
Campbell, F. A.
Cannon, Carter
Cate, James
Cartwright, _______
Catlett, Harry B.
Chambers, A. J.
Chambers, Fariba
Chambers, J. K.
Chapman, John
Chapman, Sam
Chiles, A.
Chisum, B. L.
Chitwood, J. O.
Chivers, A. M.
Chivers, Larkin
Clanton, W.
Clark, J. W.
Clay, L. A.
Clifton, J. W.
Clifton, Lewis
Clifton, Theodore
Cloud, John F.
Cohen, Lewis
Cohn, Israel
Coker, N. M.
Coleman, K.
Coleman, A. C.
Coleman, James
Coleman, Madison
Coleman, P. E.
Coleman, Tom S.
Collier, Jack
Collier, John
Collins, Brit
Collins, W. W. R.
Condra, John
Conley, C.
Conner, A. H.
Conner, Jess
Conner, John
Conner, W. D.
Cook, Josiah
Copeland, A. H.
Copeland, T. B.
Cotrell, Simon
Courtney, John J.
Copeland, A. C.
Cowan, I. M.
Cowart, Charles
Crawford, W. C. E.
Creswell, Ambrose
Creswell, Cyrus
Creswell, Lytle
Creswell, R.
Crocker, Thomas
Cromwell, W. C.
Cross, A. H.
Cross, Robert
Crouch, Avery
Crouch, L.
Crouch, W.
Crow, G. W.
Сrow, Joe Boggs
Crowley, B. F.
Crowley, Hiram
Crowley, Richard
Cummings, John M.
Cummings, C. C.
Cummings, John
Cureton, Captain Jack
Curry, T.

Daggett, Iphraim Merrell
Daggett, Charles B.
Daggett, Henry
Daggett, Henry Clay
Dade, Dabney C.
Dalton, George
Dalton, Jasper
Dalton, Joe
Dalton, Pat
Dalton, Tom
Daniel, F. H.
Daniels, John
Darcey, Samuel J.
Darnell, Col. Nicholas
Darter, Francis
Darter, Mike
Darter, Dr. I. M.
Darter, W. A.
Davenport, C. G.
Davis, P. G.
Davis, Sol
Dean, M. T.
Dean, Ransom L.
Dean, Silas
Denton, A. N.
Dicks, Marcus
Dickson, E. A.
Dickson, Major John
Dietrick, Gesiene
Ditto, Lieutenant J. W.
Ditto, Mike
Ditto, Thomas B.
Dobkins, Alex
Dodson, Constant
Dodson, Jott
Donaldson, _______
Dorris, Dr. William E.
Dosier, William
Doss, Jesse
Drew, Smith
Duncan, Thomas
Dunn, Dr. J. C.
Dunn, W. W.
Durrett, Bob
Durrett, Dick
Durrett, Henry
Durrett, Jack

Earl, Arch
Earles, Israel
Easter, Thomas
Echols, W. B.
Eddy, Nathan
Edwards, Cass
Edwards, Lemuel J.
Edwards, Sid
Eggleston, Irving
Eggleston, Everett
Eggleston, J.
Elliott, J. W.
Elliott, John H.
Elliott, R. M.
ELliott, Sanders
Elliott, W. F.
Ellis, J. N.
Ellis, James
Ellis, M. G.
Elliston, Frank
Elliston, J. W.
Elliston, Mark
Elmore, A. M.
Eppler, Mrs. _______
Estis, Meredith
Estes, Silas
Evans, J. A. T.
Evans, J. M.
Evans, J. Sam
Evans, James
Evans, William
Ewing, Dr. _______

Farmer, Elijah
Farmer, D. V.
Farmer, G. P.
Farmer, Jake
Farmer, Joe B.
Farmer, Press
Farrar, John
Farrar, Simon
Ferguson, W. T.
Ferris, Walter
Field, D. R. A.
Field, Henry
Field, Dr. J. T.
Field, Jeff
Field, Joe
Field, Julian
Field, Dr. Sam
Field, Will
Finger, George
Finger, John
Finger, Lewis
Finger, Peter
Fletcher, Jasper
Ford, E. M.
Ford, P. H.
Ford, R. C.
Ford, R. Eli
Ford, Richard
Ford, W. M.
Ford, W. G.
Fort, John S.
Fort, L. T.
Foster, Allen
Foster, Harvey
Foster, J. B.
Fowler, A. Y.
Francis, N. B.
Freeman, Rev. A.
French, B. J. W.
Freshour, John

Gaither, Jerry
Gano, General Richard M.
Garathy, J.
Gardenhire, William
Gee, W. P.
Gibbins, R. C.
Gibson, Garrett
Gibson, John
Giddens, W. M.
Gilbert, Captain Mabel
Gilbow, E. H.
Gilliam, Will
Gilmore, Seburn
Givens, James
Goehenant, A.
Goodwin, Charley
Goodwin, Macajah
Goodwin, Will
Granbury, Hi
Grant, James
Gray, Thomas A.
Green, Samuel Percival
Griffin, B. H.
Griffin, Colonel George
Grimsley, James
Griscomb, Lieutenant Geo.

Hagood, Ben
Hagood, Tom
Halford, James J.
Hall, A. S.
Hall, Arch
Hall,Edward S.
Hall, John
Hall, W. C.
Hall, William D.
Hammond, P. K. S.
Hanks, A. M.
Hanks, E. D.
Hardesty, Charles
Hardesty, John
Harper, C. A.
Harper, John
Harris, A. H.
Harris, A. S.
Harris, Colonel Abe
Harris, R. M.
Harrison, John
Harrison, Jonas
Harrison, Joseph
Harrison, Thomas Jefferson
Harrison, William H.
Hart, Hardin
Hartman, Fortunate
Hartman, Sam
Haydon, James
Hayter, Rev. A. S.
Hayter, Fred
Hazlewood, A.
Hazlewood, William
Heath, Thomas Jefferson
Henderson, J. T.
Henderson, W. A.
Hendricks, Green B.
Hendricks, H. G.
Hickey, Louis
Hicks, Lieutenant Watson P.
Hicks, William
Hilburn, Sebe
Hirschfield, John S.
Hodges, Dr. D. G.
Hoffman, G. G.
Holdman, Hardy
Holdman, John
Holland, J. N.
Holland, W. J.
Holland, H. C.
Holly, William H.
Holman, J. C.
Holmes, T. P.
Holt, L. W.
Holt, Late
Holt, Dr. Pink
Holt, W. C.
Holt, W. C., Jr.
Hood, J. A.
Hope, G. W.
Hope, H. S.
Hosea, C. E.
House, P. M.
Hovenkamp, Edward
Howard, James
Howell, R. M.
Howerton, F. M.
Howerton, J. B.
Hudgens, Rev. E. N.
Hudgens, Philip D.
Hudson, Prof. John
Huffman, Phil
Huffman, Walter A.
Hughes, J. H.
Huitt, John
Hurst, H.
Hurst, J. A.
Hust, John
Hutcheson, Alphord
Hutcheson, Charles A.
Hutton, Vincent J.

Isbell, George Rufus
Isbell, Mel
Isbell, Paul
Ish, Rea M.
Ish, Rev. T. A.
Ish, William J.
Ingraham, John
Inman, Jack

Jackson, Dr. George
James, Ben
James, Enoch
James, Tom B.
James, William
Jasper, A. J.
Jasper, J. H.
Jasper, T.
Jenkins, E. M.
Jenkins, Zeb
Johnson, Alsford D.
Johnson, Ben H.
Johnson, C. C.
Johnson, Coleman
Johnson, J. B.
Johnson, J. C.
Johnson, J. D.
Johnson, J. R.
Johnson, Colonel Middleton Tate
Johnson, M. T., Jr.
Johnson, Thomas J.
Johnson, Tobe
Johnson, W. J.
Jones, I. W.
Jones, J. B.
Jones, J. C.
Jones, J. F.
Jones, Jesse
Jones, L. W.
Jones, Peter M.
Jordan, Francis
Jopling, G. W.
Jopling, L. L.
Joyce, James
Justice, Jesse

Kane, Lewis
Kelley, James W.
Kemble, Henry
Kemper, David C.
Kennedy, M. D.
Kinder, George
Kinder, John
King, Richard
King, William
Kirby, Joseph
Kirkwood, _______
Kiser, John
Knaar, Francis

Lacey, C. C.
Lasater, O. R.
Law, P. J.
Lee, A. J.
Ledford, Silas
Leonard, Levi
Leonard, William
Little, J. K.
Lockett, David
Loving, John S.
Loving, W. R.
Loving, Samuel P.
Loving, J. S.
Louckx, Charles
Lowe, William
Loyd, Captain M. B.
Lusk, John P.
Lyles, John W.
Lytle, Minor
Lynn, Billy

Maben, N. M.
Maben, T.
Maclay, Robert P.
Maddox, Colonel. W. A.
Majors, Tuck
Manley, J. S.
Mann, R. S.
Manning, _______
Marchbanks, J.
Marchbanks, Lafayette
Marchbanks, W.
Marshall, L. G.
Martin, C. W.
Martin, James D.
Martin, John H.
Mason, Henry
Masten, W. K.
Mathews, A. J.
Mathews, Thomas M.
Mathis, James
Matthews, Dr. Mansell
Mauk, David
Mayhall, T.
Mayo, W. R.
McClung, Ashbel G.
McDonald, C. B.
McGinnis, John
NcKee, William
McKinney, J. N.
McKinney, R. C.
McKinney, T. N.
McKinney, T. J.
McLamore, M. W.
McLemore, John
McLemore, William
Mendy, Charles
Melear, L. C.
Merrell, Major Hamilton
Middleton, Dr. A. K.
Milborn, Albert
Milborn, E. Z.
Minter, Green M.
Milwee, Judge A. M.
Mitchell, Ben C.
Mitchell, Charles Ellis
Mitchell, Eli
Mitchell, John A.
Mitchell, Joseph E.
Mitchell, Matt
Mitchell, Richard
Mitchell, William L.
Monneyhan, J. J.
Montgomery, Lewis
Moodie, S. O.
Moody, Pleas
Moody, Rall
Moody, Thomas
Moor, Elisha
Moore, J. R.
Moore, Pleasant
Moorehead, Jacob
Moorehead, William
Moose, Berry
Morrison, Pat
Modeley, William
Mozier, J. K.
Mugg, John A.
Mulkey, George
Myers, Henry

Nance, Gideon
Nash, Z. E. B.
Netherly, Captain Alex
Neal, K.
Neice, Joel
Newton, Eli
Newton, Anderson
Norris, William
Norton, A. B.

Oglesby, J. H.
O'Neal, Jim J.
O'Neill, William J.
Overton, A. W.
Overton, Lon
Overton, W. H.
Owens, John
Ozee, Jasper

Parker, Dan
Parker, Isaac Duke
Parker, Samuel
Parton, A. J.
Patton, William
Payne, C. G.
Peak, Dr. Carroll M.
Peak, Howard
Pearce, L. J.
Perkins, A. M.
Perkins, Lee
Perkins, Tom
Perry, Alford
Perry, Green
Perry, Melville
Perry, Napoleon B.
Petty, John
Petty, Sam A.
Petty, William
Pew, H. R.
Pew, John H.
Pickens, _______
Poe, Henderson
Poe, William
Pope, Pinckney
Popplewell, Sam
Powell, J. W.
Prather, C. D.
Purvis, Doug
Purvis, Joe
Purvis, John

Quaile, Amos
Quaile, William

Ragan, Stephen
Ragsdale, Smith
Ragland, D. J.
Ralston, A. S.
Ralston, John
Ramsey, John Seth
Ramsey, Merrick F.
Ramsey, Robert
Ramsey, S. S.
Randall, William
Randol, A. J.
Randol, M. L.
Rattan, Wade Hampton
Ray, Dr. J. D.
Reece, Bill
Reed, J. N.
Rice, William
Richie, R. C.
Richy, A. C.
Rintleman, A. G.
Roberson, W. A.
Robertson, Joel
Robinson, Archibald
Robinson, Nathan
Robinson, Randol
Robinson, W. M.
Robinson, T. F.
Rodgers, Waling R.
Rogers, F. S.
Roy, John C.
Rudd, Sidney W.
Rudd, William H.
Ruddle, _______
Rumby, Eli
Ruse, Bob
Rushing, J. L.
Russell, John
Russell, Stephen B.
Russell, W. C.

Samuels, Baldwin
Samuels, Jacob
Sanders, C. A.
Sanderson, William
Sawyer, W. F.
Scott, Jim
Scott, W. M.
Seaton, Sam
Sewell, Peter
Sharp, G. M.
Shelton, Dr. J. F.
Shippey, J. K.
Sigler, N.
Silkwood, Solomon
Slaughter, Robert
Smallwood, Porter
Smith, David
Smith, John Peter
Smith, Lieutenant Jim
Smith, Junius W.
Smith, N. A.
Snider, Robert
Snow, David
Spaight, Colonel A. W.
Solee, _______
Starr, R. West
Starr, S. C.
Starr, Samuel H.
Steele, I. M.
Steele, Lon
Steele, Lawrence
Stone, Green
Stone, William
Stockett, I. J.
Strahan, Dr. J. A.
Sublett, H. W.
Suggs, Henry
Swann, Ferd
Swayne, John F.

Tandy, Roger
Tandy, William
Tannahill (Tannehi11), D. K.
Tannahill, Robert
Taylor, Hugh
Taylor, Tom C.
Terrell, Dave
Terrell, Edmund S.
Terrell, George
Terrell, Joseph C.
Terry, J. N.
Terry, Nathaniel
Terry, Nathaniel, Jr.
Terry, Stephen
Terry, William
Thomas, George L.
Thomas, Hampton
Thomas, Martin V.
Thomas, T. A.
Thomas, William I.
Thompson, Milt
Thurmond, P. M.
Timberlake, Major J. E.
Tinsley, L. J.
Tolliver, Joseph
Torry, Neal
Trayler, Washington
Trice, J. T.
Tucker, Rowan
Tucker, W. B.
Turner, Charles
Turner, Jim
Turner, William
Tummins, S. N.
Tyler, Paul H.

Utley, Lieutenant Thomas

Veal, W. G.
Van Zandt, Major K. M.
Ventioner, Isaac Ventioner, Ventioner, Jim

Wade, Reuben
Wade, Woodson
Walden, Legrande
Waldron, P.
Walker, A. G.
Walker, Jim
Waller, A. S.
Wallace, F. R.
Walling, Vance
Ward, Captain _______
Watson, Jason
Watson, James A.
Watson, John H.
Watson, John J.
Watson, Patrick A.
Watson, Patriok A., Jr.
Watson, R. L.
Watson, Thomas H.
Walters, William
Weaver, Harrison
Webb, Alex
Weems, John
West, C.
Wetmore, Louis
Wheeler, Cal
Wheeler, P. L.
Wiggins, David
Willie, Felix
Willie, Jacob
Witherington, John
Wilson, James
Wright, Albert
Wright, Dick
Wright, Jim
Wood, N. G.
Woods, James P.
Woods, M. L.
Wynne, William

Yandle, E. D.
Yantis, W. O.
York, John B.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

I. Documents

Gammel,. H. N. P. (compiler and arranger), The Laws of Texas, 1822-1897 . . . . . 10 Vols. Austin, Texas: Gammel Book Company, 1898.

Gregg, Wilson (reviser and codifer), Charter and Revised Civil and Criminal Ordinances of the City of Fort Worth. Fort Worth, Texas: Texas Printing and Lithographing Company, 1889.

Journal of the Senate of Texas, Seventh Biennial Session. Austin, Texas: John Marshall and Company, 1857.

Reports of the Secretary of War with Reconaissances of Routes from San Antonio to El Paso, Senate Executive Document Number 64, first Congress, first session. Washington: Union Office, 1850.

II. Books

Allen, William, Captain John B. Denton . . . . . Chicago: Donelley and Sons Company, 1905.

Brown, John Henry, History of Dallas County, Texas: from 1837 to 1887. Dallas, Texas: Milligan, Cornett, and Farnham, Printers, 1887.

Byrd, A. J., History and Description of Johnson County. Material from this book was sent from the Archive Department, Austin, Texas.

Considerant, Victor, The Great West, A New Social and Industrial Life in its Fertile Region. DeWitt and Davenport: Fowlers and Wells, 1854.

DeShields, James T., Border Wars of Texas.

Fulmore, Zachary Taylor, The History and Geography of Texas as Told in County Names. Austin, Texas: Press of E. L. Steck, 1915.

Johnson, Frank W., A History of Texas and Texans, 5 Vols. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1914.

McConnell, Joseph Carroll, The West Texas Frontier . . . . . Jacksboro, Texas: Gazette Print, 1933.

Middleton, John W., History of the Regulators and Moderators and the Shelby County War In 1841 and 1843 in the Republic of Texas . . . . . Fort Worth, Texas: Loving Publishing Company, 1883.

Paddock, Captain Burton Buckley (editor), A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas, 2 Vols. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, 1906. A revised edition of this book was published by the same company in 1922 under the title of History of Texas, Fort Worth and Texas Northwest Edition.

Ramsdell, Charles William, Reconstruction In Texas. New York: Columbia University, 1910.

Terrell, Captain Joseph Christopher, Reminiscences of the Early Days of Fort Worth. Fort Worth, Texas: Texas Printing Company, 1906.

Webb, Walter Prescott, The Texas Rangers . . . . . New York: Houghton Millin, 1935.

III. Magazine Articles

Cummings, Judge C. C., "Historical Gleanings" in The Bohemian (I, November, 1899), 16-18.

Strickland, Rex Wallace, "History of Fannin County, 1836-1843" in Southwestern Historical Quarterly (XXXIV, July, 1930), 38-68.

Webb, Walter Prescott, "The Last Treaty of the Republic of Texas" in Southwestern Historical Quarterly (XXV, January, 1922), 147-173.

IV. Other Sources

Files of Mary Daggett Lake. Mrs. Lake, descendant of a pioneer Tarrant County family, has been gathering material for many years and has written most of the newspaper articles on the history of Tarrant County which have been published in recent years. Most of her material is first-hand information since she started her files while many of the first settlers of the county were still alive.

The Tarrant County Scrapbook at the Fort Worth Carnegie Library was made as a C. W. A. Project. It is composed largely of newspaper articles, which have had the names of the newspapers from which they were clipped and the dates destroyed. There is also some miscellaneous material in the way of interviews and other items in the book.

Interviews from which material has been used will be found in the Appendix J, xlv-lvii.

The Archives Department of the State of Texas sent an incomplete list of the companies which were organized in Tarrant County during the Civil War.

Major General E. S. Adams, Adjutant General, War Department at Washington, D. C. sent the records of Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson's Mexican and Civil War service.