I received this from another list. Since there is mention of Elliott in the article, I it may be of interest to others. Richard ----- Original Message ----- From: <jleehunt1@aol.com> To: <POINDEXTER-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thursday, March 07, 2002 5:16 PM Subject: [POINDEXTER] (no subject) Hello Everyone, The following article appeared on the Bedford Co TN list, and being as how there is a John POINDEXTER mentioned thought it would be of interest. This was an early wagon train going from Bedford Co to TX, probably by one of the Trail of Tears Routes. I am not familiar with any of these people. Best Regards, Janet (Baugh) Hunter The Bedford County Historical Quarterly Vol. 1, No. 4 Published by The Bedford County Historical Society, Shelbyville, Tennessee, Winter 1975 Pages 139-141 Wagon Train From Tennessee -------------------------- (Summarized from date furnished by Mrs. Woodrow Wilburn, Texarkana, Texas) Mrs. Wilburn's article was first published in ANSEARCIN' NEWS, Summer, 1975. Since this article concerned Bedford County, Mrs. Wilburn was contacted in an effort to learn more about (1) the source of her information and (2) for permission to use parts of the article. Mrs. Wilburn graciously responded to the request furnishing not only her source but supplementing the original article with information of a later date. Briefly summarizing, there were several wagon trains which left the Bell Buckle area from 1811 to 1837. Logs of the trips and diaries of some individuals were kept of each trip. Some of these records were discovered by Mrs. Wilburn in a most unusual manner and one I referred to the ANSEARCIN' NEWS for the account. A portion of the first log, covering the trip which left the Bell Buckle area April 8, 1811 is repeated here. The destination of the wagon train was that portion of East Texas which was later to be known as Washington-on-the-Brazos. A Condensed Version of the Log ------------------------------ Captain Baker was the wagon master and had either wagons. Andy McCoy was the first scout and Marcus Whitlo was second scout. Henry MdDaniel was second in charge, driving the lead wagon. He had two wagons and five children in the wagons. Joe Pelphry was Deputy and he had one wagon with four children. Jim Elliott had two wagons; Robert Grainger Elliot, 1 wagon and 3 minor children; J. F. McDer one wagon, four children; Jim Poindexter, one wagon and five children; W. W. Smith, one wagon and five children and his brother W. E. Smith with one wagon and three children. Homer G. Elliott, Dan Clovis Elliott, W. C. Elliott, P. C. Elliott, and LeLand G. Elliott were the five grown sons of Robert G. Elliott, who drove supply wagons. Bill Walker and his brother Sam Walker, sons of Will (or Mike) Walder, drove supply wagons. Sam R. Cooper, Sr. with two wagons and five children; Kelly Ross, Sr., one wagon and two children; K. C. Spike, Henry Allman, Roy Fergison, O. Lemay each with one wagon with no children. S. Roy Walker, one wagon, no children. He was a brother to Will and Mike Walker (who were) not on the train. Ted Morton and Jack Johnson, not train but each paid for one wagon's expense. Barney Phipps, Jim Crump, Willis Wright, John Parr, Charles Berry, and Thurman Utchman were all guards. Belung Brown and his brother Arden, each with a wagon. Arden was later kicked by a mule and couldn't work for a long time. Otto Payne and Jim Jones, one wagon each. Benny Tubbs, preacher. Dr. Crossweight, the doctor. There were 39 men including the doctor and the preacher and there were 19 women and 42 children. Ninety were in the train when they started from Tennessee but they picked up two wagons on April 20th. They had 28 wagons, 116 draft horses and mules, and 30 saddle horses. One-hundred dollars was paid by each family and there were 19 or 20 families on the train. Rules of the Wagon Train ------------------------ 1. Allow 5 days each 100 miles. Bad days, what you can make, or stay in camp if agreed by all. Real good days, and group, makes it easy pulling 25 to 30 miles per day, if camp sites come right. 2. Take plenty of guns and ammunition. 3. Recommended -- shave your head -- Indians have no interest in bald heads. 4. Do not drink whiskey of alcohol in freezing weather, or you are liable to freeze to death. 5. Do not fire rifles, only when absolutely necessary. 6. Do not stay up late - get your sleep. Guards are on duty all night. 7. Do not smoke strong pipes and cigars in close places where women and children are. 8. Keep you politics and preaching to yourself. Let the preacher do the preaching. 9. In case of a runaway of reams to wagons, get down and try to ride it out. If you jump, you are liable to get killed, or hurt badly. The hose men will pick the team up, maybe not too far off. 10. All people - young married, or not, stay inside the circle of wagons in Indian country, or you are liable to loose your scalps. 11. The wagon master will try to pick spots so men and women and children can bathe, clean up, and wash clothes, when possible. 12. Be courteous and help others 13. Do not be noisy, even with your musical instruments; only when it is safe. 14. When can, we will have recreation and dances. 15. Do your part by all means. Church services will be held when it is considered safe form Indians, and other hazardous conditions. ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 ============================== Search the POINDEXTER-L archives: http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=POINDEXTER