This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Davidson, James, Parker, Chapman, Childers, Thompson, Cullins, McLennan, Smith, Boys, Robertson, Neal, Hughes, Griffin, Taylor, Tyler, Sparks, Bird, Crouch, Hopson, Beal, Ickleberger, Allen, Craddock, Erath, Moorehouse, Chandler, Howlett, Flurey, Sullivan Classification: Biography Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/hkB.2ACE/8442 Message Board Post: Dallas Morning News, 06 Aug 1899, p. 13 Dallas, Dallas County, Texas Early Days in Texas The following paper on early times in Texas, by W. T. Davidson, was read before the old settlers association at Belton, July 2: In 1833, Robt. Davidson with his family, accompanied by Isaac James, Daniel and Benjamin Parker with their families and George and Herman Chapman (a single man) emigrated from Illinois to the wilds of Texas, then a providence of Mexico. My recollection is that the Parkers stopped in the territory (what is now Houston county) and Davidson and the Chapman brothers continued their journey to the Brazos River. Davidson built a log cabin on Davidson’s creek near the present town of Caldwell, in Burleson county, his cabin being the first built on that stream and the creek was given the name of Davidson’s creek. About the same time there was a settlement on the Brazos, north of the present town of Caldwell, called Tenoxtitlan, where the settlers collected together for mutual protection against the Indians, who had possession of all that country between the Colorado and the Brazos rivers. My recollection is that in the fall of 1834, Goldsby Childers, W. D. Thompson, Robt. Davidson, Daniel Cullins, Neal McLennan, “Camel Back” Smith, Calvin Boys and others whose names are not recollected moved up the country and now settled on the Brazos river, where the town of Nashville was laid out by Major Sterling C. Robertson. Robertson was an impresario and had a contract under the Mexican government to introduce 200 families in the territory lying above the old San Antonio road. Nashville became a town of considerable importance, it being the county site of the municipality of Milam, which embraced all of the territory up to and including the Pan Handle. When the town was at its zenith there were probably 40 or 50 families living in it. The Indians would make frequent raids to and for 30 miles below Nashville. They would come into the town at night and steal horses. On one occasion they came right into the thickest settled portion of the town and took two horses out of a stable. Old Grand Daddy Neal, as he was called by his friends, went out one morning to drive up his calves and was murdered by the Indians. My mother heard him holloa when he was being scalped by the savages. On another occasion they killed a man by the name of Neal three or four miles about town. I recollect seeing him brought to town strapped across his horse. On another occasion they ran some men right into town, which caused some considerable consternation for a short time. There was a man by the name of Hughes teaching school and when the news got to the schoolhouse about the Indians being right in the edge of town, the children made a break for the door. The teacher planted himself in the place of exit and began to holloa, “go back, go back,” but we ran around and between his legs until the house was left with the teacher as its sole occupant. Each of the children, bare-headed and with disheveled hair, ran as only children could run, believing that a Comanche was right at their heels. In 1835 (in the spring), Goldsby Childers, Robert Davidson, Moses Griffin, John Taylor, O. T. Tyler and two or three other families whose names are now forgotten, with their families moved up the country and settled on Little river – Childers south of Rogers, Davidson and Griffin at Three Forks and Taylor just below Belton in what is now known as Taylor’s valley, and O.T. Tyler on the south side of Leon at the mouth of Nolan creek, just below the Belton. They had all of them previously filed on or located their head right certificates in what is now Bell county. Davidson and Griffin and Taylor each built their cabins in the bottom on the banks of the river and cleared and put in cultivation four acres each of bottom land. O. T. Tyler out his four acres in cultivation and lived with Taylor. They settled in the river bottom as a protection against the Indians for it is a well known fact by all the old timers that the Indians were never known to pursue and enemy or go into the timber to attack even unprotected women and children. They raised both corn and pumpkins in their fields. Childers and Taylor, I believe put in and cultivated considerable patches of corn. In the same year, Colonel William Sparks settled on his head right on the west side of the river just below Davidson’s cabin. Colonel Sparks did not have his family with him. He and a negro man came up the country to build a cabin before bringing his family. The rest of the above named all had their families with them. The Indians attacked Colonel Sparks and negro at night in their tent, but after being fired upon they left without doing any harm. The Indian was brave on the prairie, whenever he had all the advantage or could get the white man on the run, but an arrant coward under all other circumstances. The white man could whip ten to one, as did Captain Bird on the open prairie near Temple in 1838. In the winter of 1835, Davidson and Crouch (whom I had forgotten to mention above and who came to this country with my father) took their families down to Nashville and returned in the spring to make another crop. In the meantime, Santa Anna was invading the country and stormed the Alamo in March and put the entire command to the sword. It is said, “Thermopylae had her messenger of death, the Alamo had none.” The news of the fall of the Alamo having reached the town of Nashville, there were two men, Jack Hopson and John Beal sent up the country to inform the settlers of the fact in order that they might fall back with their families to Nashville. Childers with his family, Taylor and family, Judge O.T. Tyler, Robert Davidson, Jasper Crouch, Ickleberger and four or five others hastily got their effects together and got as far as the Walker springs or about what is now know as the Allen place, seven miles north of Cameron, the first night. The next morning they took up the line of march and had got about a mile on their journey when the Comanches pursued from the rear, passed the wagons and killed both Davidson and Crouch who were riding about 300 yards in advance of the wagons. While the Indians were killing and scalping Crouch and Davidson the party with the wagons left the road and drove a few hundred yards into a motte of timber, unhitched the oxen from the wagons and made their way into Little river bottom and from thence to Nashville the next day. It probably would not be out of the way to say that Beal and Hopson, the young men who came up the country to inform the settlers of the fall of the Alamo, reached Nashville that night. Of Goldsby Childer’s family who were present and saw the Indians kill Davidson and Crouch, I am pleased to say that Mrs. John R. Craddock and Mrs. O. T. Tyler, who is the mother of George W. Tyler, are still living and both look like they have taken a new lease on life. There were many stirring events taking place all the time. Joe Taylor, who took such an active part in what is known as the Taylor fight, just below town, was carrying the mail on horseback between Nashville and Independence and was returning with the mail after night and got about two miles of town when he discovered five or six Indians just above the road sitting on their horses. Taylor hailed them, and at the same time put the spurs to his horse with the Indians right at his heels. On and on they came like a whirlwind into town. One big stalwart fellow came right up to the side of Taylor and tried to grapple his bridle reins. Taylor who was carrying a rifle, but being so closely pursued was unable to use it up to this time, struck the Indian over the head and landed him on the ground. The people of the town soon collected all around Taylor and wanted to know what he was making all the noise about, holloaing “run here, boys! run here, boys!” He then related the chase and showed a wound he had received at the hands of the red devils. In order to locate the town of Nashville I will state it was built on the west side and right on the bank of the Brazos river, where the International railroad crosses that stream and as a bit of unwritten history, I will state that the commissioners appointed to locate the seat of government for the republic of Texas came to that place and examined the surroundings with a view of selecting that place, but unfortunately for that prospective city there had just fallen a heavy rain, which made the streets, which were black prairie, almost impassable. That sealed the fate of Nashville. Later on, in the early ‘40’s the town began to grow, as it was the rendezvous of nearly all the expeditions sent against the Indians. Captains George B. Erath, Moorehouse, Captain Bird, Eli Chandler and others all stopped at Nashville, it being on the extreme frontier, on their way up the country to hunt the red man. Almost every one in this part of the country is familiar with the details of the Bird fight that took place in this county in 1838. As to the relative strength of the contending parties, Captain Bird had about thirty men and the Indians at least five to one of the rangers. In that engagement Captain Bird and the Indian chief were both killed and the rangers lost three besides their captain. The Indian’s loss has been variously estimated from ten to twenty-five. There has been considerable contention between the old settlers as to where the remains of Captain Bird were buried. I have it from undoubted authority recently obtained that when Bird’s men were about to leave the battle ground his son, a boy of 16 years refused to leave his father’s remains and they were strapped across a horse and taken down to the fort or Fort Griffin near the Three Forks of Little river and there buried. Of the old settlers, including those above enumerated of Nashville I can only remember Captain Howlett, Barron, Flurey, McLaughlin, Tom and Will Roberts, McCluskey, C. M. Hubey, L. L. Stickney, Weavers, Gus Sullivan, James Shaw, N.C. Raymond, McGinnis, a shoemaker, Pool, Chance, Nibling, Ickleberger, Groce, Dave Farmer, McCanless, Daniel Monroe and McKay. One of the Weavers was stabbed to death with a bowie knife in a saloon by a man of the name of Hardin. There were no jails in those days, hence Hardin did not remain under guard long before he “got away” and left the country. Such are a few of the recollections of early times when I was young in this beautiful country.