TX BIOS: N. Y. Bicknell Selected and converted.American Memory, Library of Congress. Washington, 1994. Preceding element provides place and date of transcription only. This transcription intended to be 99.95% accurate. For more information about this text and this American Memory collection, refer to accompanying matter. U.S. Work Projects Administration, Federal Writers' Project (Folklore Project, Life Histories, 1936-39); Manuscript Division, Library of Congress.Copyright status not determined. 00011 McGuire, Delise [?] Aug. 5, 1936 Re Crosby County District 17 "Pioneer Days At Estacado" Page 1 Bibliography (N. Y. Bicknell) N. Y. (Uncle Nell) Bicknell, who tells a few happenings of the early days of Crosby county, was born in Madisonville, Tenn., in August 1860, the year of the memorable campaign of Abraham Lincoln when he was a successful candidate for the presidency. "Uncle Nell" is now 75 years old. "I came to Texas in 1884, Steve and Sam Ellis and their families, [DEL: [?] :DEL] and Temple Ellis and myself, decided that we would move on west. We outfitted four covered wagons with four team mules and horses and started west. We could travel only about 10 to 15 miles a day but managed to put in every day traveling and on November 20, 1887, landed in Crosby County and settled one mile west of where the Pleasant Hill school house now stands. We lived there until 1899 and moved 3 miles Northeast of [?]. But before that time, in 1894, I returned to Farmersville where I was married to Miss Jennie Bumpus, and returned immediately with my bride to Crosby County." "The building of the court house at [?] was begun in 1887 and finished in 1888. Temple Ellis and myself hauled the first two loads of lumber that went into the courthouse from Colorado City, then the nearest railroad and shipping point. It usually took us four days to make the trip and six days in returning. In the winter it took eight days to make the return trip. "On our trips down to Colorado City, we went by the way of Snyder which had a hotel and general store at that time, and on our return trips in order to avoid the sand between Snyder and Colorado, we came back by old Durham, about four miles east of where [?] in Borden county now is". NOTE: C.12 - Texas 00022"In 1891 Felix Franklin was assesor for all these counties [DEL: [?] :DEL] attached to Crosby, nine at the time, and I was his deputy. I remember that it took me 30 days to assess the counties of Motley and Dickens. These two counties were organized in that year, and Hale county drew out in 1988. "In 1891 county seat election was held and the court house was moved to Old [?]. The court house at Estacado was torn down and moved to the new county seat. The [?] townsite company was Stringfellow and Hume, [??] and George Bennedick and J. F. Moore. "Estacado was headquarters for the cowboys who came there for many miles in every direction. They had their dances in the court house. There was never any saloon at Estacado and consequently a pretty quiet place. It was different at Emma for there was a saloon there at one time and things got pretty rocky sometimes. I never did miss a dance at Estacado. We danced all night and rode all the next day. "we used to have lots of prairie fires during the early days and a prairie fire was something to be dreaded. The biggest one I remember started about where Abernathy now stands. There was a strong west wind when the head fire got about where Becton is now and divided, part going through south of Petersburg. The wind changed to the north when Leslie Ellis and [?] Fox were along the south side of the fire; it caught them between the fire and pasture fence. They did not have time to tear down the fence or go to the end of it, so they rode their horses in a run toward the fire and just before reaching it [DEL: lent :DEL] leant over in their saddles 00033and blindfolded their eyes with their hands getting through the fire without being hurt. Joe Brown and myself got caught in the fire. We caught the first team we could get hold of, I rode a horse and Brown [?] a mule hitched to a buggy. We had four miles to get home, and a wall of fire was right in behind us. The old mule laid his ears back on his head and left out of there like he knew what it was all about. We managed to stay ahead of the fire. Fox had 30 or 40 head of cattle to perish in this fire and some 1600 sheep east of where Cone is now . [DEL: were destroyed. :DEL] "About 1877 some of [?] Cox family got sick and there being no doctors in the country he went to Oklahoma and brought back Dr. William Hunt, father of the late Dr. J. W. Hunt. We liked the country so well that he went back and brought his family to Estacado in 1888. "In 1910 a county seat election moved the court house from Emma to Crosbyton and I was in the regular move. In 1911 [?] interested in the First National Bank of Emma. Edgar Allen was cashier and J. C. Woody was president. I was elected chairman of the board of directors in 1911 and have had the place ever since. When the bank was moved to Crosbyton it was changed to the Citizens National Bank. "In 1909 the First National Bank and the Citizens National Bank were consolidated. "A total of thirty-three people who once lived in Crosby County's historic town of Emma now reside in Crosbyton. These people all moved to Crosbyton shortly after the county seat election which moved the court house from Emma to this city. 00044Only five people who lived at Estacado when that community was the county seat now reside in the county, three of these living at Crosbyton. "The ones who lived at Emma and now reside in Crosbyton are: Mrs. Edgar Allen, Sr., Edgar Allen, Jr., N. Y. Bicknell, Mrs. N. Y. Bicknell, R. S. M. Carter, Mrs. R. S. M. Carter, Mrs. Ruby (Carter) Parks, Bruce Carmack, Will F. [?]. Mrs. John K. Fullingim, Miss Mattie Fullingim, Mrs. Dessie (Fullingim) Walters. "J. E. Johnston, Mrs. J. E. Johnston, Tom Johnston, Bill Johnston, Joe Johnston, Mrs. Ola (Johnston) Raymon, Dick Jones, A. K. Lackey, Mrs. A. K. Lackey, Mrs. J. F. Littlefield, Olen Littlefield, Fred Littlefield, Percy Lamar, Mrs. W. D. Lamar, Albert Moore, C. E. Roy, Mrs. C. R. Roy, C. C. Roy, B. E. Roy, Mrs. Maud (Roy) Woods. "People who lived at Estacado in the early days and are now residing in the county included Mr. and Mrs. N. Y. Bicknell, Stanley Carter, George Mayes, Crosbyian; John Kirlin, Mrs. Dave Benton, (was Mrs. J. C. Murphy at that time), Mrs. S. W. Wright, Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Noble, Halls; J. P. and E. M. English, J. J. Spikes and Mrs. C. Littlefield, Cone. -30- 1185 words ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ Thanks to the Library of Congress http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/wpaintro/txcat.html ***********************************************************************