Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-03-16
OLD TIMES IN TEXAS.
An Interesting Letter by an Old Citizen
of Boone County, No.
Surveyor Who Ran Some of the First Lines
in Fannin, Mckinney and Dallas Coun.
ties Back in the Early '40's.

and settlement of Collin and Dallas
counties. The writer, whose name is not
given, certainly gave a very accurate
for 1 was there in the neighborhood at
the time and assisted in participation of
some of them.
When 1 first arrived in Texas, which
was on the last days of the year 1871,
we came to halt at the end OF
settlements and civilization, in company
with J Ii Wilcox we found ourselves
at Fort English, where Bonham now
stands in Fannin county. That was the
outside settlement at that time.
But we soon learned that party would
start in few days TO the Trinity country
with a view of surveying and locating
their land warrants, aud it did not take
Wilcox and myself long to decide to fall
in with that party and take a look at
that country. We had complete set of
surveying apparatus with us. So we
fell into line with the company and
started for the waters of the Trinity. and
when / got there 1 found that it was the
first time that | had ever been off of the
waters of the Mississippi.
After falling IN with this party of sur
veyors, we found the party headed by
DR.. Rowlett, who lives on Red river.
He had a deputy county surveyors
commission and deputized myself and
Wilcox to assist in the work.
There were fifteen or twenty persons
in the party, but I cannot recall the
names of any except two or three of
the Sadler brothers. One of these
Sadlers settled in Fannin county near
the town of Honey Grove, where he lived
to raise large and respectable family.
This article in THE GAZETTE speaks of
Mr.. Muncie having been killed by the
Indians on his claim on Rowlett s creek,
which l assisted him to survey on that
trip. ] located my certificate for head
right to $40 acres of land, granted by
the republic of Texas. j. H. Wilcox
located his also at the same time, on the
same creek, which is about twenty or
twenty-five miles northeast from Dallas.
When we finished up all the surveys for
those who concluded TO locate, as there
was part of them that re-
turned without locating their claims,
Wilcox and myself ran a connecting
line from RoWlett's creek due west to
Elm Fork of the Trinity with view to
correct the surveys made on Rowlett's
creek and at or near the crossing of the
old road from Fort English to Bird .
fort on the West Fork of the Trinity.
We met Samuel Browning, the agent of
the Peters colony with a company of sur
veyors who had been running off the
boundary lines for SAID colony, who in
formed US that we were in their colony,
and of course we could not locate any
land warrants inside of their colony
limits, as that was held in reserve
diately and returned to Rowlett's camp
on the creek named after him, and
assisted him in finishing up the work he
had to do. When we completed the
same returned to Fort English, where
l stopped with Judge English, who had
built the fort. 1 remained with the
judge some time, and there I met
Browning again, who promised me work
in the colony as soon as he could
get his settlers on the ground, but in the
meantime l was engaged with surveyor
who had been called on to survey and
locate lands for old DR.. Throckmorton,
who located on land near where the town
of Mckinney is now located. We soon
located the Doctors lands, and then it
was that 1 became acquainted with
his son James, afterwards governor of
Texas and when happened to be in that
neighborhood L always made DR.. Throck-
morton's my headquarters, and l al
ways found him pleasant, gentlemanly
and very hospitable. This Governor
Jim was young man that
had not completed his educa-
ton, but was noticed at that
time as promising young man. Soon
after that 1 made some surveys and To-
Gated land warrants for a number of
others, and among them was some land
for the Hon. Jno. Hodge, spoken of by
this late GAZETTE correspondent. He
was elected to congress from Fannin
county before Texas was annexed TO the
United States. happened in the settle
m ent at Fort English on election day,
when Hodge was elected and was clerk
of the election at that precinct. That
was in the summer of 1912. 1 returned
to the colony that fall to Browning's
camp at Cedar Springs, mile |
or so from the present city of
Dallas, and would locate emigrants as
they would come in and would occa-
siOnally run over to the Throckmorton |
settlement, and assisted in burying the |
first two men that were regularly in- |
tered in a graveyard in Collin county. |
This correspondent of THE GAZETTE gave |
the names of the men who died. but I |
uO HUb T0IDSLDD6F IuSIE udm6sy SO I0aL
DR.. Throckmorton was the first settler in |
Collin county.
But among others who came to the |
colony to settle was DR.. Calder. He |
came from the Cherokee Nation, |
with his young wife. She was |
about half blood Cherokee, but a very |
beautiful woman. When the doctor !
arrival at our camp he left his wife with |
some family near by and started to the |
settlement at Fort English for supplies. |
He got in the neighborhood of the |
Throckmorton settlement, and imme-
diately on the road was a settlement Just |
starting by Joe Wilcox and Col Jack /
McGarrah, and few others. They had |
built house and were preparing to oul-
tivate some land. That was in January, |
1913.
The doctor passed Willcox's cabin |
about breakfast time. He stopped and |
had few words with them at the |
cabin, but he did not get but a
few yards from their cabin until
they saw the Indians run out from the
brush and attack him. When they had |
killed him thew made an attack nm the