My great-grandfather Joshua David "Doss" Coffee first settled in Fannin County in 1855 and joined the 14th Brigade of the Orangeville Independent Home Guard during the Civil War. They were known as "heel flies" by local people and were similar to a Confederate "Gestapo". They had the authority from the Confederate Government of unlimited search and seizure. General Henry Eustace McCullough was the commanding officer of the Home Guard units in the North Texas District with headquarters in Bonham, Texas. The men of the former Home Guard units were considered Confederate guerillas by the occupying Federal Authorities after the war and many were sought out to face federal charges. My great-grandfather fled the strife in the Five Corners area with his young family in 1877 and settled on a hard scrabble piece of land on the Texas frontier in Coleman County after the Indian problem was concluded. It was the responsibility of the Home Guard units to round up diserters and draft dodgers and imprison them. Ft.Towson in Oklahoma was a abandoned U.S. Army garrison that was used by the Confederate government to imprison diserters and union sympathizers. Sometimes the diserters were hung on the spot when captured. The diserters and draft dodgers were known a "brush soldiers" since they hid out in the wooded areas of north Texas. The Black Cat Thicket in the Five Corners are of North Texas was a brush soldier hide out. It is located in the junction of Hunt, Collin, Grayson and Fannin County. It is cleared and cultivated farmland today. The communities of Orangeville and Desert are located in the old Black Cat Thicket area. The movie "The Outlaw Josey Wales" starring Clint Eastwood, is a romanticized movie about the strife in the Missouri and Texas areas. It is from the book by Forrest Carter's called "Gone to Texas" . People that migrated to Texas after the Civil War carved "GTT" on their door, meaning "gone to Texas". . Jerry Coffee -----Original Message----- From: Geannie42@aol.com <Geannie42@aol.com> To: Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com <Southern-Trails-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Monday, June 11, 2001 7:59 PM Subject: Re: [SouthernTrails] Alabama >While on the subject of divided families in the Great War, much of Tennessee >was torn in their loyalties. In my own family, one paternal >great-grandfather fought for the Union, one maternal great-grandfather fought >for the Confederacy. But, to top that, I had four g-g-uncles, brothers, who >were divided within the family, with two fighting for the Union and two for >the Confederacy. All of these lived in the Wayne/Hardin/Lawrence County >areas of southern middle Tennessee. There are many, many such stories from >that area and that era. And believe me, feelings still run strong in this >regard. > >Linda (Alabama) > > > >============================== >Search over 1 Billion names at Ancestry.com! >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/rwlist1.asp > >

What was going on in Orangeville about 1903 or 1904 that would have drawn folks down from Ohio? My father in law( LM Craig) was born there in 1904 after his dad came from Ohio? They never talked about this and of course all are dead now. It seemed to be a stopping point for them as they later moved down to Anderson Texas. I have always wondered why he would come to that area. Thanks Judy

My mother's family also came to Texas from Ohio about this time. Their youngest child was born in 1900 in Falls County, Texas. They were found in the Mercer County, Ohio Census in 1880 and of course, the 1890 census is lost forever. Seems like there was a mass exodus of pioneers to Texas during this time frame. Several related families in this same area seem to have all come together about the same time. Maybe some old newspapers could give us a clue. Perhaps the lure of cheap land or much needed labor was the reason? Vanessa in Texas Judy Craig wrote: > What was going on in Orangeville about 1903 or 1904 that would have > drawn folks down from Ohio? My father in law( LM Craig) was born there > in 1904 after his dad came from Ohio? They never talked about this and > of course all are dead now. It seemed to be a stopping point for them > as they later moved down to Anderson Texas. I have always wondered why > he would come to that area. > > Thanks > > Judy > > ============================== > Create a FREE family website at MyFamily.com! > http://www.myfamily.com/banner.asp?ID=RWLIST2