Sears Catalog Homes
By Barbara Arambula
Between 1908 -1940, Sears, Roebuck, and Co. sold approximately 100,000 homes in 447 styles by mail order catalog. After choosing and ordering a home plan from the catalog, within as little as two weeks the customer could expect to receive the 30,000 or so pieces of the new home in two boxcars at the nearest train station. These homes were sold in kits and included everything from pre-cut lumber, paint, nails, and shingles - everything except the labor to assemble the home. Each kit came with a leather-bound 75 page instruction manual embossed with the new home owner’s name. The 1908 Sears catalog gave a price range from $495 - $4115. Sears also offered the materials and plans for a schoolhouse.
I was recently told that a Sears home had been built in Fayetteville around 1926. One of the descendants of the original owner stated that the home was brought in on the railroad - which in Fayetteville was across the street from the building site. Being one of the largest plans available – the home took two years for construction to be completed. Are there others in Fayette County? When you think about the difficulty in those days of actually obtaining the lumber, tools, etc. to build your own home, it seems likely that many people in this area may have taken advantage of the Sears Catalog Homes. Being close to a railroad would make it much easier to transport the materials to the building site.
Home kits were offered by other companies such as Montgomery Ward and Aladdin, but Sears was the most successful at marketing the homes. One advertisement claimed that a new Sears home would improve the health and moral character of its owners. Bathrooms were often optional – the site where the home would be built would have to have the necessary utilities in place. No problem however, Sears also sold a dandy outhouse.
After the depression in 1929, it is said that the mail order home business began to decline, and many families lost their homes to foreclosure. Sears, Roebuck, and Co. had also offered mortgages.
Identifying these homes is a difficult task. The lumber was “sometimes” numbered on each end according to the home plans. Many homes have now been remodeled or torn down. Approximately 1000 of these homes built across the United States have been identified—this is a small percentage of the total sold and built. The sources for this article listed below may be helpful in identifying a home as one from the Sears Catalog.
If anyone has knowledge of a Sears Built Home within Fayette County, please consider sharing the information with the historical commission.
Sources for the above information: “The Houses that Sears Built” by Rosemary Thornton and “Houses by Mail “ by Katherine Stevenson and H. Ward Jandl.
Enterprising Settlers
— John and Michael Short —
by L.J. Calley
You may have the impression by now that Fayette County in the 1830s and 40's was a far different community than it became after the major immigrations of the Czechs and Germans. Certainly Fayette County and its largest settlement, La Grange, had a devil's share of Anglo-American frontier types with colorful to dubious histories.
Today's article is about two more individuals of this ilk. Michael and John Short arrived in Texas in 1835 by way of Georgia and Alabama and joined Sam Houston's army in time to fight in the battle of San Jacinto. They soon located in the Muldoon area where they farmed, operated a mill, and generally made themselves unpopular by openly championing the abolition of slavery. At this time, the largely non-slaveholding German and Czech farmers were still a small minority. The brothers soon began an Underground Railroad that encouraged fugitive slaves in their efforts to move north.
A pair of the county's finest, most principled citizens, right? Wrong. It seemed that the slave runaways were always getting caught and resold, over and over again. Although never proven, rumor had it that the Shorts were getting long on money on each transaction. What the slaves may have gotten for their complicity is not known
Things were going so well that the brothers, with the help of younger family members, decided to diversify into cattle theft and later, counterfeiting. According to "The Huntsville Banner" their counterfeiting ring involved five states. Two relatives were tried and convicted for these activities. Michael's nephew, William, was hanged on October 6, 1849, and John's son-in-law, William Sansom, had the dubious distinction of becoming the first inmate of the recently completed state prison at Huntsville.
John Short died in 1847, and Michael died in 1859, both of natural causes. Michael and his wife, Permelia, and their two sons are buried in the old City Cemetery in La Grange. Prior to her death in 1867, Permelia Short lived at the corner of Travis and Crockett Streets, where H.E.B. is now located.
Today, Fayette County is known for its civic-minded citizens and peaceful, quiet orderliness. My, how things change.
Side-Wheelers on the Colorado
by Larry K Ripper
Today we think of the Colorado River as a gentle stream that meanders on its way through our town. For a brief period in our States history, however, it offered up the prospect of commercial river traffic and a future for a fledging, landlocked economy.
In 1840, William McKinstry published The Colorado Navigator, which was a full description of the "bed and banks" of the river. He believed that the Colorado could support commercial river traffic. Early traders in keelboats moved produce and provisions between settlements, but the lack of power made these boats ineffective against the slow but steady current.
In 1844 The Republic of Texas chartered the Colorado Navigation Company for the purpose of developing navigation on the river. Later that year, the first steamboat on the river was built at La Grange. The Kate Ward, a sidewheel steamer, had twin seventy horsepower engines. She was 115 feet long and 24 feet wide. Built to draw only 18 inches of water empty, she was capable of carrying 800 bales of cotton. In 1848, a similar craft, the Water Moccasin, was constructed at Bastrop.
The river offered many challenges to navigation; sandbars, rocks, log "snags", and low water were ever-present dangers. Three miles upriver from La Grange, boatmen would face the infamous Rabbs Shoals, a section of fast water and rocks. The greatest obstacle, however, was the "raft" at the mouth of the Colorado near Matagorda. There stood a massive logjam, which completely blocked the path to the Gulf.
After about 15 years of commercial steamboat operations, improved roads and the promise of railroads, along with the frustrations of an ever-changing river, contributed to its demise. Low water would ground boats for months; however, with good water they would make Austin. Next time you're on the river…listen carefully. That sound you hear just might be the echo of the Kate Ward's whistle as she steams round the bend with her homeport in sight.
Julia Lee Sinks
by Annette Ruckert
Julia Lee Sinks – a pioneer settler, historian, and author – wrote, "Folklore constitutes the only basis of history in the settlement of a new country—.I have let those as near as possible who have made this history write it themselves."
Indeed, as noted by Lonn Taylor in the book's foreword, Chronicles of Fayette is not so much a narrative history as a collection of sources, "a group of voices from Fayette County's past, recording their own experiences."
But it was Julia Lee Sinks who gathered these sources, who brought the voices together to tell a story. With her talent for writing, which she called a "taste for scribbling and recording," Sinks helped preserve the history of Texas and Fayette County.
A "loyal, enthusiastic, and valuable supporter," Sinks was a person whose "character and influence…manifested those high ideals of womanhood which were the finest products of the Old South," said The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association in April 1905.
Men respected Sinks and encouraged her to participate in various historic preservation projects - at a time when business and public meetings did not often include women. Though not a native Texan, Sinks revered Texas and respected the settlers who arrived during the Republic and early statehood periods.
Sinks was born on January 18, 1817, to George and Mary (Morse) Lee. In early 1840, her family left Cincinnati, Ohio, to settle in Austin, the newly selected capital of Texas. There she met George W. Sinks, the chief clerk of the Post Office Department of the republic. They married in 1841. In 1842, they moved to La Grange, where George Sinks pursued a career as a merchant. The couple eventually became parents of six children.
Julia Lee Sinks did not limit her activities to child rearing and housekeeping. She collected rocks and minerals, wrote stories and poems, and corresponded with well-educated friends. People who believed strongly in the success of Texas introduced Sinks to the Republic. Soon she began her new interest - preserving the history of Texas and the story of its heroes.
Her role in creating a burial site for the men who died in the Dawson Massacre of 1842 and the Mier expedition is an example of her efforts to preserve Texas history. At the dedication of the Monument Hill site in 1848, Sinks covered the coffins with black cloth and draped them with black velvet, clusters of leaves, and stars - decorative trimmings prepared with her own hands.
The preservation of Monument Hill continued to interest Sinks throughout her life, and she dedicated herself to establishing facts, writing articles, and raising funds to build a monument at the burial site.
In 1876, a Centennial Committee of seven prominent La Grange citizens decided to gather a history of the settlers of Fayette County. They agreed that Sinks should be the woman to write the book.
Sinks collected oral and written histories from many early settlers and their descendants. She included some of her personal experiences, as well. She also gathered information on topics such as pioneer life and the characteristics of early Texans, Indian battles, social institutions, transportation, cemeteries, and county organization.
Although parts of her manuscript appeared in newspapers and journals, the book remain unpublished until 1975. The Heritage Committee of the La Grange Bicentennial Commission published several hundred copies of Chronicles of Fayette as their first project. In 2000, the Fayette County Historical Commission reprinted the book in its original form.
Julia Lee Sinks died on October 24, 1904. According to the Handbook of Texas, she was a member of the Texas Veterans Association and was a charter member, vice president, and honorary life member of the Texas State Historical Association.
Her scrapbooks and journals contain handwritten copies of poems, short stories, religious writings, letters, and historical notes. Through the years, she contributed many of these items to various newspapers and journals. The University of Texas received her collection of miscellaneous documents relating to the history of Texas from 1837 to 1900.
An eventful life as a pioneer settler, a desire for historical accuracy, and a gift for writing - all served Julia Lee Sinks well in her effort to preserve Texas history. And her reminiscences in Chronicles of Fayette serve us well today, reconstructing for us our background - telling our story - through the voices of the past.
Sally Skull
by Sherie Knape
There have been many legendary female characters throughout Texas history and the most infamous was Sally Scull (Skull). Sally was born Sara Jane Newman in 1817 or 1818 probably in Illinois. She was the daughter of Joseph Newman and Rachel Rabb Newman. Her grandfather, William Rabb, moved his entire family - children, grandchildren and all - to a Spanish land grant site in now present-day Fayette County where he was a gristmill operator.
The women often found themselves at the mercy of the wilderness and the Indians when the men were away. Sally probably inherited her strength of character and spirit from her courageous mother Rachel. Legend has it that during one of Joseph's frequent absences; Comanches attempted to enter the Newman cabin. Rachel took offense and promptly chopped off one of the Indian's toes with a double bit axe. The Indians then tried to enter the home by way of the chimney. A feisty Rachel piled feather pillows in the fire grate and set them ablaze.
In spite of Rachel and Sally's well-earned reputation for self-defense, Indians of other tribes continued to raid the Newmans at every opportunity.
Eventually Rachel complained enough to her husband about the Indian raids that the Newman clan fled their initial settlement and took up residence approximately fifty miles southeast in the safer climate of Egypt about ten miles north of Wharton.
In 1833 Sally married Jesse Robinson. The couple moved into their house on Jesse's land grant near Gonzales. In March of 1836, Sally and her two-year old daughter very likely got caught up in the Runaway Scrape as citizens fled before the invading armies of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
In 1843 Jesse Robinson sued for divorce. He called his bride "a great scold, a termagant, and a adulterer." Sally countered and charged Robinson with cruelty and claimed that he'd squandered her inheritance. She wanted her dowry restored and custody of their two children, nine-year-old Nancy and six-year old Alfred. The jury split up the property but failed to render a verdict on the children. The couple's divorce was finalized on March 6, 1843. Later Sally placed the children in a Catholic School in New Orleans.
Within a heartbeat of Jesse's departure from her life, Sally remarried. The groom was George H. Scull, a mild mannered gunsmith. He and his new wife moved back to Egypt and lived on land inherited by her father. Although she remarried three more times, Sally retained the name Scull or Skull for the rest of her life.
For 5 years Sally Skull seemed to drop off the face of the earth only to reappear claming herself as a single woman. When asked on the whereabouts of her sweet natured, mild mannered husband, she snapped, "He's dead." Evidently no one cared or had the nerve to question Sally so poor Scull just passed into history.
For a few years Sally roamed the countryside. In 1852, she turned up in Banquete and bought a ranch. She married John Doyle and they started a highly successful trade and livestock business. Not long after arriving in the area she was involved in a pistol fight. The shooting took place in front of numerous bystanders and might be the reason for her quickly growing reputation of violence. The entire population of South Texas was said to recognize her as she rambled across the land with her mule trains and horse herds. She wore mostly pants even though it was considered unnatural for women. For formal occasions she hid two French pistols under her clothing but for everyday wear a gun belt and heavy revolvers worked fine.
Sally persuaded her cousin, John Rabb, and his friend to acquire land next to hers and they began running huge herds of cattle under the now famous Bow and Arrow brand. She traveled around the countryside acquiring livestock alone and carried large amounts of gold in a bag hanging from her saddle horn. Concerned family members warned her that such practices could be deadly. Sally just laughed, checked her loaded pistols, and continued on her way. Whispered rumors of horse theft often followed Sally, but no one had grit enough to accuse her openly.
Sometime between 1852 and 1855 John Doyle faded from the scene. Having two husbands vanish left neighbors with wild stories of how she must have killed one or both of them.
It is fairly certain that she didn't kill her fourth husband, Isaiah Wadkins. Her petition for divorce described a physically and mentally abusive union that ended when she abandoned him in 1856 after he beat her and dragged her behind a horse.
When the Civil War broke out, Sally had been living with her fifth and final husband for over a year, Christopher Horsdorff, at least twenty years her junior. During this time she stopped ranching and began the more profitable business of running cotton from Texas to Mexico and returning with weapons for the Confederacy. This added to Sally's already legendary status.
When the Civil War ended Sally again dropped out of sight. In 1867, a suit filed against her in 1859 ended with the puzzling note "death of Defendant suggested." Many believe Horsdorff killed her for her riches. Authorities never brought charges against Horsdorff or anyone else. Legends still persist that she simply abandoned her old stomping grounds and struck out to find a new life.
In the end it doesn't really matter how or when Sally Skull died. Her life of struggle, achievement, defeat, and success in spite of unbelievable odds should be what we take from her story. Sally Skull was never known to betray a friend and even during the rough times she still maintained close contact with her son and daughter. And although parents all over used the image of Sally Skull to keep their offspring from misbehaving, there is no evidence that she was anything but loving and concerned when it came to any child she ever met. In 1964 a historical marker in her honor was erected two miles north of Refugio, Texas
Rudolph B. Spacek, Fayetteville Solid Citizen
by Irene Polansky
Rudolph Spacek's travels took him away from Fayetteville, but never more than a one-day train ride away.
Rudolph Benjamin Spacek was born in 1884. At the age of seven, he was enrolled in Father Chromcik's School in Fayetteville - now the site of St. John's Catholic Church. Czech was the language spoken at home, but everyday contact with Germans and classes at Professor Hill's German School made him proficient in that tongue as well. After graduation, he attended Hill's College in Waco and took night classes in telegraphy (sponsored by the railroad). He spent a year clerking in a store in tiny Hackberry, Texas before tapping into his telegraphy skills.
He worked at a variety of train stations- from Sealy to Temple. Other stations where he served were La Grange, Coupland, Taylor, Granger, Bartlett, Temple, Waco and Lorena.
After his Grand Tour of small town railroad depots, Spacek returned to Fayetteville, where he bought a millinery shop from a Mr. Otto Forres.
In 1905, he married Mr. Forres' daughter, Minnie. They moved to Granger, where they opened a general grocery store. Conditions there were poor and the local custom was to charge merchandise at the store against the cotton crop-which might come in, or might not. Discouraged, he sold out without realizing any profit whatsoever.
Returning to Fayetteville, the business climate was better. Rudolph Spacek wanted to make up for lost time. He went into the real estate business and also a partnership with a tailor. He became a notary public and an advisor on tax problems. While selling general insurance, Spacek bought and sold cottonseed and flour. He later became a Justice of the Peace with his office in the Fayetteville Precinct Courthouse. In 1916, Spacek petitioned the Texas Railroad Commission for a new freight platform, threatening a lawsuit. As the entry in a Fayette County history states: "Fayetteville soon had the best freight platform in the state."
During World War I, Mr. Spacek headed the local chapter of the Red Cross and tiny Fayetteville raised more money than any other town in Fayette County. He also served on the school board and won accreditation for Fayetteville High School.
From 1940-1954, Rudolph Spacek served as a Texas State Representative and once served seven consecutive terms without missing one day. Mr. Spacek died on November 26, 1963.
If Fayetteville had had four more people like Rudolph Spacek, the State Capital might be in Fayette County.
Waldine Tauch, Sculptress
by Donna Green
Waldine Amanda Tauch was born in Schulenburg on January 28, 1892. Her father was the local photographer, William Tauch. She was a bright and curious child. When she was seven years old she saw a carved ivory bookmarker from Germany and fell in love with it. She acquired chalk from her teacher and proceeded to create the same intricate piece of artwork. She was encouraged by her family and friends to do more of the same carving in chalk and soap. Waldine and her family moved to Brady, Texas. Her talent was discovered by the Brady Tuesday Study Club and they voted to sponsor the young girl and help her develop her talent. At the age of eighteen Waldine went to San Antonio to study at the studio of famed Italian sculptor, Pompeo Coppini. He had been dubious about female students and exacted a promise from her that she would give up marriage and family so that she could give her complete devotion to art. This was a radical view in 1910, even for a determined young woman. She never broke this promise to Coppini. And it is said that she never regretted devoting her life to creative work.
When the Brady Tuesday Study Club could no longer afford to pay for her education Coppini and his wife taught her for free and raised her as a foster daughter in their home. Waldine developed a natural style that led her to sculpt public monuments and heroic figures. Her first public commission was a bas-relief for the Brownwood Library. In addition to sculpting she also taught classes at the San Antonio Art Academy and at Trinity University. Waldine and Coppini together founded the Academy of Fine Arts to discuss and exhibit art in museums and galleries throughout the state. She received an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Howard Payne University in 1941.
She contributed statutes to many famous institutions around the state. Some of her more recognizable work includes the statue of General Douglas MacArthur at Howard Payne University in Brownwood, Moses Austin in San Antonio City Hall Square, and Pippa Passes at the Armstrong-Browning Library on the campus of Baylor University. Her final creation, done in 1971, was a large World War I doughboy for the American Legion Department in Austin.
Waldine continued to sculpt until her eyesight began to fail her in her eighties. She died in San Antonio on March 31, 1989 and was buried in the same plot as Coppini and his wife.
Tenant Farming: On the Halves, Thirds and Fourths
by Harvey Meiners
In the economic system founded on the cash crop value of cotton, the sharing of production was a common factor. The tenancy rate in Fayette County was high in the early twentieth century, and many families depended on a sort of crop-lien system that benefited both the farmer and the landowner, although with severe limitations for both.
The common system for farmers who had their own equipment, which was mostly, horse drawn, was to share one-third of the corn crops and one-fourth of the cotton crops with the landlord. This was referred to as farming on the third and fourth.
For those families who could not afford basic equipment, teams and seed, furnished only their labor, relying on the generosity of the landlord. For them, farming on the halves was the standard. Both types of renters were furnished a very simple frame house to live in and some barn and storage of feed and shelter for the work animals.
The third and fourth renter was allowed a small pasture to keep a couple of milk cows for home consumption of milk and beef. The tenant usually raised a few hogs and chickens and was allowed a garden plot to raise vegetables for family use. The tenant usually cultivated from 40 to 75 acres, depending on the size of his family labor force.
Oral rental agreements were a one-year term, renewed in the spring, for the following year. In this type of economic system, it was difficult, if not impossible for families to move up to land ownership. They were constantly in debt to the landlord or their limited percentage of the crop kept them from saving necessary funds for land purchase.
There was little economic distinction among farm families, although those who farmed on the halves were considered at the bottom of the system, and those who owned land were considered near the top. Relatively little in terms of cash wealth, however, separated the two.
The elite, such as they were, was the store owners and gin operators. In the cotton culture of the area, they controlled the flow of money. Gin workers cut samples from each bale and the buyer, usually the storeowner, graded it according to fiber length and strength, as well as the amount of dirt and debris it contained. The cotton was graded: strict middling, middling or low middling. The buyer would pay the farmer figuring the weight and grade of the bale and subtract the ginning fee. Any merchandise bought on credit during the year would be subtracted. Oftentimes the tenant farmer did not realize any cash until after the second bale was sold.
Credit was the lifeline of the payment system. When credit failed, like through drought or storms causing low crop yields, foreclosure often followed. As a result, the area cotton brokers and storeowners frequently became large landowners and real estate brokers as well. This is not to imply that the storeowners were indifferent to difficult times. They really wanted their customers, neighbors and friends to pull through rough times and be able to continue farming.
The Tonkawa
By Gary E. McKee
Fayette County was inhabited by many cultures in the last ten thousand years. Upon the arrival of the Anglo settlers in the 1820s, the Tonkawa was the primary culture in this area.
The Tonkawa tribe arrived in Central Texas in the late 1700s. Originally a Plains tribe, the Tonkawa was driven from their lands by the Apache. In Central Texas, the Tonkawa absorbed the local bands of natives such as the Mayeyes, Cava, Toho, and Yojaune, among others. The Spanish attempted to convert them by erecting three missions on the San Gabriel River, west of Rockdale, in 1746. This venture failed after many Tonkawa died from disease and Apache raids. The Spanish then tried to convert the Lipan Apaches by building the San Saba Mission in the Hill Country. The Tonkawa joined the Comanche tribe and destroyed the San Saba Mission in 1758. For the next several decades, the Tonkawa periodically raided the Spanish settlements. Stephen F. Austin's colonists were met cordially by the Tonkawa who sided with them against the aggressive Comanche.
During the Linville Comanche Raid of the Tonkawa were eager to get a chance to fight the Comanche. After a meeting with General Burleson at Bastrop, Chief Placido and his band of "Tonquaways" trotted nonstop along side the Texian's horses for thirty miles to the Plum Creek battle site, where the Tonkawa helped defeat the Comanche raiders.
The Tonkawa were scouts and soldiers for Texas and later the United States. In the 1850s, Texas set up a reservation for the Tonkawa on the upper Brazos River. The local settlers, distraught over recent Indian raids attacked the reservation and killed many of the innocent Tonkawa. In 1859, they were removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma). When the Civil War began, U.S. troops left the reservation and the local Indian tribes attacked killing half of the 300 remaining Tonkawa. The survivors returned to Texas and settled on the upper Brazos, near Fort Griffin where they served as scouts for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars. After Fort Griffin closed they returned to Indian Territory to settle on a tract of land listed in Texas public record as thousands of acres of "natural, hunting land for all times." In reality it was less than 100 acres for the 140+ Tonkawa. Today, less than fifteen families live on the reservation.
Peter Carl Johann Von Rosenberg
Veteran of Waterloo to Fayette County Pioneer
by Sherie Knape
Peter Carl Johann Von Rosenberg was born in 1794 in
Germany.
Peter enlisted in the Prussian Army at a young age and was a
lieutenant in the cavalry by the age of 21. He served with an
elite Prussian Guard unit known as the Uhlans. Their primary
weapon was the lance and their chief responsibilities were
scouting, skirmishing and outpost duty. Peter Carl fought in the
battles of Leipzig and Waterloo.
Peter was married twice and had ten children. All ten
children, both males and females, had some form of the name Carl
in their name. The names of his children were Carl Hermann, Carl
Wilhelm, Johanna Carolina and Johannes Carl, Carl Eugen, Amanda
Karoline, Carl Alexander, Carl August Walter, Carl Friedrich
Wilhelm and Charlotte Wilhelmine.
Peter was known in Germany as a free thinker and was severely
criticized for his political views. Because of the unrest in
Germany and fear of war, the family decided to leave Germany and
immigrate to America. Peter and Amanda, his second wife, packed
up the family and set sail for America. They sailed from the
German port of Bremen in 1849 and after 8 weeks and 3 days at sea
they landed in Galveston. The trip was very tumultuous as the
ship encountered a storm when trying to land and was swept back
out to sea. When they were finally able to land and get off the
ship, the Von Rosenberg's saw that the ship had lost all
twenty-two sails and only the bare framework remained.
After reaching American soil, Peter moved the family to their
new home near Round Top. He had bought the property known as the
Nassau Plantation. In 1861 when the Civil War broke out, Peter
felt it was his duty to support the cause since he had been
received so graciously when he first came to Texas. He was to old
to fight so he put on his old Prussian Uhlan uniform and rode
through the streets of Round Top calling on all young men to
enlist.
Eventually, Peter bought land in Round Top and he and Amanda
built a small home there. In 1864 Amanda passed away but Peter
continued to live in their home in Round Top. When he could no
longer live by himself he moved to La Grange to live with his
daughter. He died in La Grange of Typhoid fever on October 19,
1866 and is buried in the Old La Grange City Cemetery next to his
daughter Amanda Karoline Meerscheidt.
Von Rosenberg family photograph contributed by Jon Todd Koenig
Bigfoot Wallace
by Norman C. Krischke
William Alexander Anderson Wallace, son of Andrew and Jane Ann (Blair) Wallace, was born in Lexington, Virginia on April 3, 1817. In 1836, when he learned that a brother and cousin had been shot down in the Goliad Massacre, he set out for Texas to "pay out of the Mexicans."
Wallace was a magnificent physical specimen who stood six foot two inches and weighed 240 pounds without extra fat. For awhile he tried farming in La Grange, but the occupation was not to his taste. In the spring of 1840 he moved to Austin where he saw the last buffalo of the area run down Congress Avenue. He later moved to San Antonio.
He was with the Texans who fought General Adrian Woll's invading Mexican Army near San Antonio in 1842 and then volunteered for the Somervell and Mier Expeditions. Some of his most graphic memories were of his experiences in Perote Prison. As soon as he was released, he joined the Texas Rangers under John Coffee (Jack) Hays.
In the 1850's Wallace commanded, as a captain, a Ranger Company of his own, fighting border bandits and Indians. At one time "Bigfoot" had a little ranch on the Medina River on land granted to him by the State of Texas.
The later years of his life were spent in Frio County in the vicinity of a small village named Bigfoot. He never married. He liked to sit in a rawhide-bottomed chair in the shade of his shanty and tell stories of his career.
As a folk hero he belongs more to social than to military history. Wallace died on January 7, 1899 and the Texas Legislature appropriated money to move his body to the State Cemetery in Austin.
Women's Suffrage in Fayette County
by Sherie Knape
A women's right to vote in elections has been commonplace for many years but, in 1919, the idea was cause for much debate. The issue was both about the constitution and about life at home. A year earlier, in March 1918, a special session of the legislature gave women the right to vote in primary elections in Texas. When the primary was held in July 1918, Annie Webb Blanton, from Fayette County, was the first female officeholder in Texas. She was the State Superintendent of Public Instruction. In 1919 the 19th amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would give women the same voting rights as men, was put on the ballot.
Fayette County had many viewpoints on the subject. In the April 24, 1919 issue of the La Grange Journal, one man said, "Let the women vote...they have no voice in the election of officers who run the county and the state and yet the only time they are equal to the men is when the taxes are due." The May 23, 1919 issue of the Flatonia Argus ran a petition to the men voters of the state from the women of Flatonia, asking them to vote YES on the Suffrage Amendment on May 24th. Of course there were also many that opposed the Suffrage Amendment. One man said, "There is no reason on earth why women should take upon themselves the duties civilization has awarded to men, and every proposal to that effect is a direct contravention of the laws of nature." Many men believed that giving women the right to vote would destroy their home-life. "Women must be the homemakers. They cannot do this if they are attending political meetings, holding offices, acting as jurors and serving on boards, without neglecting the most important thing in the world, which is bringing up children."
On May 24, 1919 the ballots were cast and the vote in Fayette County was an overwhelming NO. Of the 3,778 male voters in Fayette County, 535 voted for women's suffrage and 3,243 voted against. Every single precinct voted against the amendment. The vote in La Grange was 83 for women's suffrage and 257 against. While many Fayette County women were likely disappointed, the vote in the state was much closer and the amendment passed. Texas women finally won the right to vote in all elections when the Texas legislature ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in June 1919.
Celebration - War is Won
by Sherie Knape
"Peace! The war is over" was shouted throughout the town of La Grange on November 11, 1918. After four long years World War I was over. When the good news came to La Grange at six o'clock that Monday morning the fire bell was sounded to spread the joyous news. Following the ringing of the fire bell, the courthouse tower bell and the church bells followed. People ran into each other's arms, hugged one another and wept for joy. A housewife so overwhelmed by the news passed into unconsciousness for a few moments. School children, who had been given the day off because of the celebration, marched to the East Side of the courthouse carrying flags and cheering. Mayor Robson spoke to the assembled crowd at the courthouse, directing his remarks to the school children, calling their attention to what peace truly means. Supt. Fleming of the public schools asked all to join in singing "The Star Spangled Banner," after which he addressed the parents of the children and then expressed the hope that with the advent of peace they would assist in making schools successful. The singing of "America" closed the morning's program. The celebrating continued with every available shotgun and firearm being used to make a joyous noise. Gasoline was cheap so autos were decorated with bunting and national flags and driven around the town. The folks in the autos were loaded with ox bells and horns, and every other noise making device that could be found. The celebrating continued throughout the day. Business was suspended for it was almost criminal to attempt to be commercial on that wonderful day. Very symbolic, and standing in plain view of all who passed the Heintze-Speckels Company's business houses, was a pigeon in a large cage, with feathers of white, and allied nations' flags hung about. It was great glorious celebration to end a horrible war. Another great celebration came that evening with a send-off for the boys on the last draft call of Fayette County. A program was prepared at the courthouse at 7 o'clock with seats arranged upon the lawn. Red, white and blue electric lights added background to the already enthusiastic crowd that had gathered. Bands played patriotic tunes and speakers uplifted the crowd with their heartening words. A large bon fire was started on the northeast side of the square after the completion of the program. The boys boarded the train and left La Grange but received word around Smithville that they could return. Throughout the war La Grange had been relieved that it had not lost one of its own in the fighting, but little did they know that the next day terrible news would come causing the celebrating to end and the mourning to begin.
See photo of November 11, 1918 celebration at TexasEscapes.com website
On the Home Front
- World War II -
by Noreen Stavinoha
Along with the heightened mobilization of armed forces and hastened production of war material, Mr. and Mrs. Average Citizen and their children were asked to make serious changes to their way of life when we became involved in World War II. Coupon books were sent to each family, allowing the limited purchase of staples such as shoes, shortening, coffee and sugar. When stores received their allotted supplies of rationed goods, they would advertise in the newspapers. The day they went on sale, there were long lines of people wanting to buy their share. One to a customer, the ads stated.
We were asked to save paper and cardboard for recycling. Bacon drippings and other animal fats that could be used for the production of explosives were turned in to government collection centers.
Parachutes required the silk that went into women's stockings, so the ladies took very good care of the few they could buy. A runner didn't mean a stocking couldn't be worn any more; it was repaired. In true American fashion, there was soon a leg makeup available so the lack of hose wasn't obvious. Nylon stockings didn't come onto the American marketplace until after the war.
Women went to work doing the jobs the men left behind. Rosie the Riveter was a common figure on the posters and billboards, encouraging women to do their part. Other posters told us not to talk about troop or supply movements with the slogans like "Loose lips sink ships."
In record time automobile factories were changed from making passenger vehicles to military vehicles and tanks. With the military vehicles came a new word in the American vocabulary. The "general purpose vehicle" used by the Army was shortened to "g.p," and finally to "jeep," a vehicle still around today. New cars had to wait. Those lucky enough to have pre-war cars found their travel limited because of the shortage of tires and gasoline. The military had priority over public transportation as well, and every bus and train terminal in the nation has posters on the wall with Uncle Sam pointing his finger, saying "Is this trip necessary?'
Busses full of Fayette County citizens made weekly trips to San Antonio to give blood for the wounded, and some of those donors made the trip time after time.
Every family was encouraged to grow their own vegetables in a "Victory Garden." City folk who never gardened before learned to produce and can their own vegetables. Farmers who were already growing their own food didn't have to change that part of their lives, but a heightened sense of patriotism was now attached to it. Along with that, regular farm production increases were encouraged to feed the servicemen. A Crop Corps was organized to help increase production.
We were asked to save tin foil and tin cans. Cigarette and gum packages were the greatest source of tin foil, so children would look along the roads for discarded cigarette packages and gum wrappers to sell to collection centers. Some companies quit wrapping their products in foil, and that became part of the advertising.
Norman Rockwell made his own special contribution to the spirit of patriotism with his famous paintings on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine, depicting the freedoms of speech, of worship, from fear, and freedom from want.
In those days before television, families huddled around their radios for the daily news from the front. Names like Walter Winchell, Gabriel Heater and Edward R. Murrow made the first ever-live broadcast from a war zone when he was sitting in a bomb shelter in London. Another source of news was the newsreel that always accompanied the feature films shown at the theaters. It didn't matter that the news was weeks – or maybe months – old by the time the audience saw it.
Government war bonds and stamps were sold to fill the national war chest. Banks sold bonds, and every school in the nation had the stamps and bonds for sale. Children would buy 10 cents or 25 cents stamps to fill a savings book, and when it was full trade in for a $25 bond.
In the early days of World War II, the Army and Air Forces were scrambling for places to train their troops. The military brass in Victoria for practice bombing picked Fayette County. After obtaining permission from farmers with vacant land, their pilots practiced dropping sandbag "bombs" in the pastures while ground troops ran through their war games below.
Troop and freight trains carrying personnel and war machinery rumbled through the county day and night, along with truck convoys on the highway. Young boys and girls were fascinated. Troops never lacked for supporting youngsters standing near the tracks, waving to them. The most welcomed trains of all, though, were the ones that brought our fighting men back home.
Where in the World Was Wursten?
By Carolyn Heinsohn
Many of our small communities have virtually disappeared off the maps; however, Wursten seems to have also disappeared from the memories of almost everyone except a few local historians. Located in southwest Fayette County, a mile north of Blum Hill and six tenths of a mile south of Oldenburg (not the community east of La Grange), Wursten got its name from the unusually good sausages made by the local Anders Meat Market. Wursten is derived from the German word for sausage.
Wursten was the first settlement in that area; however, when a post office was established there in 1858, the close communities were collectively re-named High Hill, so that the post office could serve the residents of all three villages. Morris Richter was the first post-master.
The public road connecting the three settlements was believed to be the old stage road from Victoria to La Grange and points further north. Businesses located along this north to south route included a mercantile store, drug store, hotel, shoe shop, meat market, hardware store, tin shop, cotton buying office, two grocery stores, two saloons, two blacksmith shops, a doctor’s office, and an old-style cotton gin and grist mill located east of Wursten on the banks of Forster’s Creek.
There was another road south of Wursten, known as the “Old Spanish Trail” or the Columbus Road, which meandered in an east to west direction, bordering the northern edge of Blum Hill, also known as Old High Hill. Since this was the main road and major freight and mail route between San Antonio and Houston, more businesses were also built along this road.
Located about a tenth of a mile southeast of Wursten, one of the first beer breweries in Texas was constructed and operated by Adolf and August Richter. When the railroad came through the nearby town of Schulenburg bringing ice cold beer to the local residents, the Richter brothers discontinued the brewing of beer and began to devote their time to making and selling yeast, for which there was a great demand when homemade bread was part of the daily diet.
Apparently when the brewery was still operating, the residue from preparing the brew was dumped in the pastures where roaming hogs would in time run across the “delicious” heaps of fermented residue. Of course, being “pigs”, they over-indulged and became a bit “tipsy”. When they tried to walk, they would fall down on one side, grunt, get up, walk a bit more, fall down on the other side and grunt some more, providing the locals with a comical show.
A short distance southeast of the brewery was a hall called “Die Turner Halle” (gymnastic hall), where dances and picnics were held occasionally. The hall eventually was torn down, and the materials were used to build two local homes.
The early settlers of Wursten, some of whom arrived as early as 1844, included the Yungbeckers, Heinrichs, Seydlers, Anders, Schmidts, Demels, Siems, Kuiglers, Dueringers, Winklers, Richters, Eschenburgs, Nordhausens, Seidels and Wellhausens. The Joseph Heinrich family arrived in 1860 along with several other German-Moravian families from the Catholic parish of Neudeck in the Neutitschein district of northern Moravia, which was in the Empire of Austria at that time. The other German-Moravian families settled in the Oldenburg and Blum Hill areas of High Hill.
When the three villages became High Hill, the name Wursten slowly faded away. When High Hill was bypassed by the railroad extending westward from Alleyton to San Antonio in 1873, it too slowly disappeared as businesses moved to Schulenburg, which developed with the coming of the railroad. Although nothing is left of Wursten, it was a busy place in the mid-19th century with a great deal of history, much of which is incorporated in the story of High Hill, which has enough history for several more stories.
Source:
The High Hill Centennial History – Commemorating the 100th Anniversary of St. Mary’s Parish; published by The Schulenburg Sticker, 1960
Yankees in La Grange
by Gary E. McKee
In 1864, two Yankee soldiers, named Wilbur Pelton and Aaron Sutton, escaped from the Confederate States of America's prisoner of war camp near Hempstead, Texas. Their objective was to get to Mexico, which they had been told, lay on the West Side of the Guadalupe River.
Traveling at night, they came upon the Colorado River, at the bend below the bluff in La Grange. There, they encountered a muddy bayou (Buckner's Creek) and decided to camp for a while to regain their strength. They knew a settlement was nearby, as they heard bells and saw cornfields. Pelton was becoming very sickly and this extended their stay. Needing food, Sutton foraged the surrounding farms and even made his way into the south side of La Grange.
After several days, Pelton died and Sutton dug a grave for his comrade, marking it by notching a tree and breaking off Pelton's knife blade in the notch.
Sutton then continued his escape towards Mexico, by "borrowing" a horse from a farm several miles west of La Grange. Some locals discovered him and the chase was on. After several hours, he managed to elude them after abandoning the horse. He continued his quest for freedom towards the Guadalupe River on foot, but fatigue, sickness and thirst got the best of him. Finding a house near Gonzales, he gave himself up to the mercy of a German family. They were sympathetic to him and nursed him back to health, but news reached the Confederates that a Yankee was in the area.
The German family had to turn Sutton into the authorities to protect themselves. Sutton was escorted back to the fairgrounds in La Grange. The Confederate Post, which was located in the southern part of La Grange, was manned by the home guard. Being the only prisoner, he was kept in a tent at night and allowed to walk around the encampment. Sutton requested permission to make and place a proper headstone over his friend's grave, near Buckner's Creek. He was granted permission, but most locals refused to believe that he had "lived" so close to them, without being detected. Some thought he would try escaping. He proved them wrong by leading the group to Pelton's grave.
After two weeks, his guards were going to escort him to Columbus. Prior to leaving, some German merchants, who were neutral in their North/South politics, donated a new set of clothes to replace the patched rags that Sutton had been living in. Eventually, Aaron Sutton was returned to the prison camp at Hempstead, where he once again escaped, this time making it to Union lines in Louisiana.
Yellow Fever Outbreak
by Sherie Knape
La Grange has faced many trials and tribulations since it's founding in the 1830's, but the fall of 1867 stands out as the most fearsome and deadly. In August of 1867, a yellow fever outbreak occurred in La Grange. Yellow fever is named for the jaundiced (yellow) color of the skin, which the victim gets after they have had the disease for a few days. Yellow fever was one of the most feared diseases because so little was known about its causes or treatment. We now know that yellow fever is caused by an arbovirus (Flaviviridae), a small RNA virus that is transmitted through the bite of mosquitoes. Back when the yellow fever virus hit La Grange, many people thought touch or air passed the disease. Because of the mysteriousness of the illness, the outbreak was followed by hysteria.
There are many stories about how the yellow fever virus was brought to La Grange. Some believed that a peddler brought the virus. Others were sure that the virus was transported to La Grange in a box of books shipped from New Orleans. Though no one knows for sure how the virus came to La Grange, it definitely left its mark on this town. The estimated population of La Grange in 1867 was about 1000 people.
During the yellow fever outbreak there were 203 recorded deaths in La Grange, 20% or 1/5 of the population. Many more could have died and not been reported in the chaos of the epidemic. Houses and businesses were abandoned and people in town fled to the country to live in tents. Even prisoners in the county jail were either removed or discharged. Because of the large number of funerals, the supply of coffins ran out and victims were buried in hastily made rough wooden boxes. Bodies rudely prepared for burial, stood in piles within the cemetery fence. Mass burials took place, with 6 or 7 bodies per grave. The first verified death from yellow fever was Mr. C. Sayers on August 27, 1867. From that day until November, yellow fever claimed 203 people of La Grange including 112 of foreign birth, 70 Americans and 21 Negroes.
Letter on the Devastating Yellow Fever Epidemic in La Grange
Note: in 1867, a yellow fever epidemic devastated La Grange. The following is what a local man reported to Governor E.M. Pease and an article about the matter in the New Orleans Crescent. Transcribed from the Texas State Library and the New Orleans Crescent by Connie F. Sneed.
La Grange, Oct. 9th 1867.
Gov. E.M. Pease.
My Dear Sir:
Our mutual friend, Dr. M. Evans, and his daughter, very unexpectedly to me, and to my great surprise, from the report I had heard of their cases, both departed this life last night, and will be buried today. The Epidemic has not abated here, so far as there are subjects left for its actions. I have three new cases, in the last thirty-six hours, in my own family. Whether they will be fatal, or not, I cannot judge, till further developments. This leaves only two in my family yet to have it -- a grand child and a servant. I don't know certainly -- but it does appear to me that this favor [sic] has proved more fatal here—than it has ever been anywhere in the South, or even in the West Indies. Just to think of it— one hundred and seventy deaths, in a period of a little over four weeks, in a population, all told, of not more than 1600, when all the residents were at home; and during the Epidemic, more than half; yea, I believe, two-thirds of the population, had fled their homes! I trust the malady has early spent its force, and our afflicted people may soon be relieved from this awful visitation.
With my best wishes for your health and happiness, I am, your friend, & obt. Sevt.
Livingston Lindsay
N.B. I am almost worn down with care and nursing, and I am fearful I shall not be able to reach Austin as early as I anticipated, but, as soon as I can come, in justice to those dependent upon me, I will come.
L.L.
From the New-Orleans Crescent, Sept 26 1867
The Yellow Fever in the South- Great Suffering at La Grange, Texas
We have been shown private letters of a perfectly reliable character from La Grange, Texas, which tells a pitiable story of the unparalleled sufferings of the people in that town and its vicinity.
Those remaining of the citizens number barely 500 yet the interments have reached as high as 24 in two days. The average mortality is eight. Those stricken by the yellow fever are almost sure to die, the disease proving fatal in nine cases out of ten. Every house in the town is filled with sickness and with death. Business has ceased entirely; the newspapers are no longer published; the jail has been emptied of its inmates, who fled in terror from the scene of desolation. In some cases there is no one to bury the dead. Whole families have been swept away. The epidemic is spreading into the surrounding country, but the doctors in La Grange cannot find the time to leave town for a moment. The stores are all closed, and to crown the misery of the unfortunate inhabitants, starvation is staring them in the face. On the 9th there were no provisions to be had in the town—not even corn meal to make gruel with.
Young Family Stories
by Josephine White
Samuel Armstrong Young of Scottish ancestry was born in Ireland in 1787. His family immigrated to America when he was three, landing at Wilmington, North Carolina. They moved on to Tennessee where Samuel grew up. He became a waggoner and met his wife, Jane Kerr in Kentucky. They married in 1811 and had ten children.
Samuel decided to move to Texas, but refused to move unless all ten children (some now grown and married) would move too. The Young's arrived in 1840 and settled in western Fayette County. They first lived near Woods Fort (present area of West Point), but their permanent home was built near Winchester. It was a double log cabin with a "dog trot". The cabin, now covered over with wood, still stands today.
Youngest son, David Armstrong Young was nine years old when he and his older sister, Marianne, went out hunting in the woods. They wandered too far from home and ran into some Indians on horseback. David thought that the Indians had captured his sister. Whether he was "scared to death", ran too fast or pushed himself too hard is not known, but he did not recover. He died the next day. The Indians meant no harm and they brought Marianne on home.
A family anecdote handed down through the generations concerns the Dawson Expedition of September 1842, General Santa Anna had broken his promise to Sam Houston and Mexican forces were once again trying to retake Texas. In Fayette County, volunteers were being recruited to go to San Antonio to help the Texian army repel the invaders. Samuel Young learned that Nicholas Dawson was looking for men. Samuel's son, Alfred "Alf", a teen-ager, was unaware of the recruitment. Samuel knew that if Alf knew he would want to join the group. In order to keep his young son safe; Samuel sent Alf and a hired man away to the site where their new house was to be built. Their job was to cut down trees for the log cabin. Three or four days later they ran short of supplies and headed for home. When they passed by Woods Fort they heard screaming and cries of anguish. Many of the families of the men who joined Dawson were staying at the fort. Alf and his partner stopped and learned that a messenger had just arrived bringing the sad news of the ambush and massacre of Dawson's men on Salado Creek just north of San Antonio.
Alfred Young was also a waggoner. He hauled freight between Houston and Fayette County. It sometimes took six weeks to make the trip since there were no bridges over the Colorado or Brazos Rivers and the ferries didn't run in high water.
Alf married Susan Elvira Green in 1859. The women and children left at home while the men were gone still feared the Indians. If any Indians were still around at that time, they were more likely to be out and about on bright moonlit nights. They would sometimes steal horses, but did not bother with cattle, as they were too slow moving. On nights when the moon was full, Susan Young would take her small children and sleep out among the cows where they felt safe.
Susan Young lived to be 97 years of age and spent her last years in the home of her son, Frank Clark Young. Frank built his home in 1898 and today it is known as the Moore Ranch house near West Point.
The first roadside park in Texas (Hiway 71 near West Point) is situated on Young family land. Jack Young Creek runs near the park.
Samuel Armstrong Young and Jane Kerr Young were the authors great-great-great grandparents. They and many of their descendants are buried in Woods Prairie Cemetery.
FOOTPRINTS OF FAYETTE INDEX
