William Jones Morgan, Vermillion Parish, LA. Contributed by Margaret Rentrop Moore. Date: August 1997 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** This autobiography, written by William Jones Morgan, is a typed copy of the handwritten version that was handed down through family members. All misspellings and grammar errors are exactly as found. The following surnames are mentioned in the autobiography below. Bartells, Boagami, Creohan, Dupree, Gallaway, Goodwin, Kress, LeBlanc, Lloyd, Moore, Morgan, Rentrop, Richards, Schillings, Smith, Williams, Wise, Young. Recollections of William Jones Morgan As I remember, as we kept no booked memories in those times only your memory. My Grand Father was James Stewart MORGAN and my father was Thomas J. MORGAN, My Grand Mother was Susan GOODWIN MORGAN she married my Grand Father LLOYD. Thomas J. MORGAN and Mary L. MORGAN, my Father and Mother, were married Sept-16-1857. They had 10 children, Betty - born July-24-1858 MySelf-Bill " Oct-30-1860 Thomas - " Sept-10-1862 Daniel - " Oct-12-1864 Died young Lake - " Dec-4-1866 John - " May-20-1868 Mattie - " Oct-12-1869 Susie " May-20-1874 Edward - " Oct-11-1876 Mamie - " Jan-21-1879 My Mother died Oct-26-1889. I was 2 yrs old when the war was over, Pa and all his Brothers served in the war when it was over and they all came home they all left Alabama, Uncle William to near Waco Texas, Aunt Ann, Ozark Ark, Uncle Dan to Florida, and Pa & Uncle Jim to Louisiana. They first settled on Lake Simonett near Jefferson Island, the only hill in that part of the state, Jefferson's Island was asummer resort owned by Joe JEFFERSON, Bro Lake was born there and named after the name of the lake. And Bro Daniel was born, died & was buried on Lake Simonett. Some years later Pa and Uncle Jim moved to what was known then as Prarie Graig. Pa bought a section of land and let his Bro Jim have 1/4 of the section making them neighbor farmers in Vermillion Parish. There was lots of open country in that part of the state. Cattle and horses had free range they were branded by their owners but still there were some unbranded ones that any one could claim, We were all farmers of corn, cotton, cane, potatoes, and hay, the ground was black and rich, where we lived the oldest settlers was named HENRY and as the place built up they applied for a Post Office which was granted and the name of Henry P.O. was given it, The Post Master was Mr. Joseph TRAHAN and Uncle Jim was the mail carrier he carried it on horse and mule back because he went through fields and pastures cutting the distance and he could open & shut gates without getting off the animal, Everybody liked Uncle Jim he was a little man and stooped from war service. Pa owned a cotton gin & grits mill in the place where we lived, after I grew up I ventured out on my own. I got a job with a Mr. Henry H. BARTELLS who was half owner in a plantation of quite a few hundred acres of open & timber land, it faced the Vermillion river on the west the other half owner was a Jew, Issac WISE, who also owned a big store in Abbeville, La. On this plantation was a sugar mill, a cotton gin, a saw mill and grits mill also a store. I went to work for him as a clerk in the store, then in seasons I would weigh cotton run the grits mill on Saturdays and have the lumber sawed out that was needed to keep up the repairs on the plantation. During this time I met Mr. BARTELL'S oldest Daughter Katherine Ann BARTELLS. We fell in love became engaged and married. Then Mr. BARTELLS made me assistant manager to him over every thing, I acted in this capacity until Mr. BARTELLS death, then Mrs. BARTELLS gave up her interest to Mr. WISE for which she took a heavy loss, All the families moved to the Henry comunity except myself. I managed for Mr. WISE one year. Katherine & I were married Jan-6-1886. By Rev A.T. GALLAWAY on Hope Mill Plantation. We lived there from 1886 until 1898, 12 years, and here are some of the things that we took part in on the Hope Mill Plantation. There was several hundred acres of woods all hard wood timber no pines grew there and there was good hunting in these woods, such as coons, possums, mink, wild cats both long & short tails, there was deer and bear, Anyway the hounds had been running somthing all night or a big part of the night and had come back to the house, which they often did when not pened up. That morning I took my stock dog named (Catch) and went out to get a hog for meat, Old Catch kept smelling something in a thicket he went in to see what it was, I thought it was a bed of hogs, he didn't go in very far until he came out back wards with his hair standing straight up. I couldnt get him to go back in so I got off my horse & sliped around to see what it was and I saw it was a bear. So I went back to the house & told my Brother John and Bro-in -laws Herman & Eligah & Pat, about the bear. So they got on their horses with guns while they were getting ready I took the dogs and headed back where I left the bear on the way back the dogs jumped a bob cat, I knew I would have to kill the cat to get the dogs off and on the bear trail, so I sat on old Dexter waiting for the cat to cross a coro trail. I could feel his heart beating in his side for he would get real excited at the running of the hounds and would follow them if I would let him, Anyway the cat hit the opening and I let him have it, then I tied it on the back of my saddle and took off to where I left the bear, the dogs soon hit his trail and jumped him by that time the other men had gotten there and the race was on we all wore knee high leather boots flat heel & square toe with brass tips to keep the briars & vines from cutting the toe out, during the race we cut through fields & pastures where we could mash the wire down where the horses could jump in order to head off the bear from little bayou for if he crossed it we couldn't follow him and he was headed for it, we finaly got to boggy country & had to leave the horses and go on foot. Herman was a tall slender man and a real fast runner he and I were together, he out run me on foot but when I called him he was shelling corn for the mill to make meal & got several grains in his boot, When he got on foot the corn hurt his foot so he stoped to get it out, that let me get ahead of him, we had to go through a bad thicket. When I got through I was right at the bear & dogs. I had to watch my chance to shoot as he was going from me and the dogs was around him. I got the chance and shot him wounding him & when he got up his head was towards me. When wounded & get up they will go the direction their head is turned so his head was towards me and here he come. That part of the woods the ground had noles and marshy places and I had to jump from one nole to another a head of the bear, for he was after me, Pa said never shoot a bear in the head if he is facing you as his schull is thick & slanting and the shot want have any effect but if you have to waite until he gets to you he will rare up on his hind legs to attack you then shoot him. I almost come to that point when he jumped on the last nole next to the one I was on there was a bush on it and in order to keep it from knocking him back in the mud, he turned his head to miss it and I shot him in his neck & killed him, we all got together and drug him out to where the horses could come & loaded him on one of them, and brought the bear & cat up to in front of Mr. BARTELLS house, sent a rider to the school house across the bayou & the neighbors over there also the teacher brought the children to see them, We skinned the bear and divided the meat and I made a rug out of the hide. We used it on the floor in front of the fire place, The children used it at night in the winter to lay down on and put their feet to the fire after they were greased with sheep tallor to open their heads when they had a cold so they could sleep. Another thing we would do in the summer, several of us went together and bought a sloop, a one mask sail boat, Herman & I and the family would go out in Vermillion bay and camp on a little shell iland for a week. We would fish, crab & get oysters. We all enjoyed it so much especially the children yhey would fish & crab and play in the water, those Hope Mill memories are great memories. After all the other families had moved from Hope Mill & I managed for Mr. WISE one year, I got an offer from Dr. SCHILLINGS who married Mamie my youngest sister, to buy half interest in his general store, which I did and we moved from Hope Mill, La to Henry, La. As well as I remember it was in Jan 1898 some years later Dr. SCHILLINGS answering the call to Preach as a Baptist Preacher, he went to Waco Tex with his wife and Flo & Olga their two girls to school, He sold everything he had to Mrs. BARTELLS his home acres the store building & the house we lived in, then later on he sold me his half interest in the store so he could finish school, which he did & they came back to Abbeville and he pastored the Baptist church there. I rented some farm land from Mrs. BARTELLS so I could help out with what the store was bringing in and to teach the boys farming while they were in high school. Stella & Lawrence finished high school there. Stella taught in the school, then went off to college for a year. Lawrence went to New Iberia to work, then he came home disgusted with this part of the state and beged us to leave, So he & I went on a tour to find a place we wound up getting or renting a farm from a hotel man named CREOHAN. We moved there in Jan 1908, Lawrence farmed with me the 1st year there then he went to work in town and Herbert took his place on the farm, we lived there until 1911 then we moved to the DUPREE place known as the half way house between Opelousas and Washington, I farmed 50 acres & share farmed the rest, after a few years I moved to the canal place. I over seered share hands there, in the fall each year I weighed cane for a Mr. BOAGAMI, The 3 oldest Boys at time was all on the oil field in Daisetta Texas and they sumed it up together that I was getting to old to follow farming and they talked us into moving to Daisetta Tex. we agreed to do so, we moved & bought a small home, I got a job with the American Republic Oil Co the same co the Boys were with, I worked as a carpenter & painter until I retired. We are Methodist and mantained a Christian home, and taught and impressed our children the Christian ways of life as Katherine & I received of our parents and we hope and pray our children want forget. Born to our marriage of Jan-6-1886 Estella Lillian, born Jan 22-1887, Hope Mill Plantation, La married Hugh WILLIAMS at Opelousas, La. Born to their marriage, Preston, Donald and Bartel. Lawrence Jackson, born Jan-8-1889, Hope Mill, La. married Katherine Josephine SMITH, Jan 7-1919, Saratoga, Tex. Born to their marriage, Thelma Ludine MORGAN, James William MORGAN, Mildred Lucile MORGAN, Charles Ray (Dunk) MORGAN. Mary Elizabeth (Mamie) born Nov-17-1892, Hope Mill, La. married Hugh A. RENTROP At Opelousas, La. April 1, 1889 married Aug 7,1912. Born to their marriage H.A., Morgan, Syble, Rodney, Billie Ray, and Katherine. Mamie and Mary Lou died at birth, oldest and youngest child. Herbert H. MORGAN born Mar 1st 1895, Hope Mill, La. married Etha Era SMITH at Saratoga, Tx. Born to their marriage Windel-Wanda-Harold & Prentis. Lucile Ann born Jan-27-1897, Hope Mill Plantation, La. married Owen YOUNG, born to their marriage Cecelia & James. William Roy-born Jan-9-1900, Henry, La. married Vivian KRESS, May-28-1930 Daisetta, Tex. No children. Fleta Katherine MORGAN, born Sept-16-1902 at Henry, La. Married Gus LEBLANC. No children. Van Ervin MORGAN-born Apr 19-1906, Henry, La. Married Alice Nell RICHARDS Carrie Mae MORGAN-born Jan 27-1910, Opelousas, La. married A.J. (Frenchy) MOORE, Daisetta, Tex. Born to their marriage - Ronnie, Caryleu, Pat, Glenn and Margie Nell.