TX BIOS:  John T. Cox, Groesbeck, Limetone Co. TX
   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
   
   Page No. 1 Life History FOLKLORE - White Pioneer.
   
   Miss Effie Cowan, P. N.
   
   McLennan County, Texas.
   
   District No. 8
   
   No. of Words 1,750
   
   File No. 240 Reference
   
   Interview with Mr. John T. Cox, White Pioneer, Groesbeck, Texas.
   
   "I was born at Prairie Grove, Texas, twenty-five miles northeast of
   the present town of Mart, and between the present towns of Mexia and
   Groesbeck. At the time I was born, the town known as Mart, was called
   Willow Springs and there was no town near except the old county seat
   of Limestone County, Springfield, a few miles southeast of the
   community of Prairie Grove. This was in the year 1870.
   
   "I am the oldest of eleven children who were born to my parents. My
   father Milton B. Cox married the widow, Mrs. Mary Herring who came to
   Texas from Jonesboro, Alabama. She had one son, Will M. Herring. They
   reared twelve children.
   
   "My father, Milton B. Cox, celebrated his 100th birthday on the fourth
   day of October, 1938. He passed to the Great Beyond, November 10,
   1938, at the age of 100 years, one month and six days. Father was born
   in Jefferson County, Alabama, October 4th, 1838.
   
     NOTE: [????]
     
   "At the age of twenty-three he enlisted in the cause of the
   Confederacy, and served in the infantry until the close of the war. He
   belonged to Company G-18th Alabama, Infantry and served under Captain
   Hogg. He fought in the battles of Shiloh, Chattanooga, Kennesaw
   Mountain, two battles around Atlanta. Then to Jonesboro, Georgia,
   crossed the Tennessee River and fought in the Battle of Franklin. When
   the war was over he returned to his home. On October 21, 1866, father
   was married to Mrs. Herring, and in October 1869 they came to Texas
   and built their home at Prairie Grove, where he lived for nearly
   seventy years. Mother preceded him in death in 00022October 1934, at
   the age of 89. Father was a member of the Missionary Baptist Church
   for 67 years.
   
   "Father is survived by five sons and one daughter. They are: Monroe
   Cox, Prairie Grove; E. S. and D. W. Cox of Weco; and M. D. Cox,
   Midland; Mrs. May Cargile, Prairie Grove; and the one step-son W. M.
   Herring of Prairie Grove. He is also survived by thirty-three
   grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren.
   
   "About the time of my father's birth Andrew Jackson, the seventh
   President of the United States was in office. He ran against John
   Quincy Adams as a Democrat and four years later defeated Henry Clay.
   On the 8th of June, 1845, Andrew Jackson died, at the age of 78.
   Martin Van Buren came to the White House as an anti-slavery Democrat
   in 1838, after he was elected in 1837. So father lived in the days
   that history was made.
   
   "On the 4th of October 1938, when we celebrated his hundredth birthday
   he sat on the front porch of his /home and greeted the guests as they
   arrived. He was a little tired, but his mind was clear. His relatives
   and friends showered him with showers and gifts. He personally
   received them himself and refused to let anyone but himself open them.
   One of the outstanding gifts he received was a huge cake, beautifully
   decorated with a hundred candles from his old hunting friend, John
   [Sweatt?].
   
   "I do not know how old John [Sweatt?] is, but a few years ago, father
   and John went hunting, John had to rest while father kept up with the
   dogs. When John would get his wind they would ramble on for another
   few hours until John would see another inviting log and the story goes
   that father would have to do some more waiting. Many were the old
   friends who gathered to help celebrate this happy events and many were
   the stories told of by-gone days. 00033"An interesting event was of
   the cyclone which visited our section fifty-four years ago; it blew
   the school house down, and many were injured, but only one killed. But
   out of that school's pupils, there were twenty-one who were present to
   greet father on this, his hundredth birthday. And father knew them all
   and told incidents of that school of fifty-four years ago, which the
   cyclone struck and told of the panic it caused and how happy they were
   to find that there was so many left who were not injured.
   
   "Another interesting incident father was fond of telling was the story
   of the persimmon tree, when they marched on Nashville, Tennessee,
   under General Hoods campaign, during the days of the Confederate
   struggle. I will try to tell it in his own words. After the fall of
   Atlanta we marched northward into Tennessee over frozen ground and how
   cold it was! Our shoes were worn out and our feet were torn and
   bleeding. As I marched over the rough frozen road I tore up one of my
   two shirts and made bandages of it to ease the pain. We endured great
   hardships, the snow was on the ground and there was no food. Out
   rations were a few grains of parched corn. When we reached the
   vicinity of Nashville we were very hungry and we began to search for
   food. Over in a valley stood a tree which seemed to be loaded with
   fruit. It was a frost bitten persimmon tree, but as I look back over
   my whole life, never have I tasted any food which would compare with
   these persimmons." Not many years ago father walked with me to see a
   farm which he had recently bought, in it there stood a persimmon tree
   which was taking from the productiveness of the soil for a large size
   space surrounding it. I said, "Why do you leave that persimmon tree
   standing here in the way of farming?" Then he told me the story of the
   persimmon tree back in the days 00044when they marched on Nashville
   and said, "Son, when I am gone, I want you to see that this tree is
   spared and let it be a reminder to all of you of my gratitude to God
   for the other tree which fed as in those days gone by." I promised and
   the tree stands today.
   
   "Under carpet-bag rule, following the Civil War, I can remember as a
   boy, the trouble at Old Springfield, Limestone County, with the freed
   negroes. They still had frequent fights with the whites, in fact there
   was a race war on. Both whites and blacks lost many lives. Martial Law
   was proclaimed and heavy taxes were levied on the whites who held
   property. One of my earliest recollections was seeing the negro
   soldiers as they passed by our primitive home on their way from Mr. E.
   B. Smyth's to Tommy Wallis' house, collecting taxes with guns. They
   had nice shining guns and fine looking blue uniforms. They had fine
   saddles and horses. We did not have much to tax. Father hid his cotton
   in the thicket where they did not find it.
   
   "When the white people elected Richard Coke for their governor all
   this trouble ended. Limestone County was the huntsmen's paradise.
   There was an abundance of game everywhere. As a small boy one morning
   I stood outside the yard, I saw a fine bunch of deer run through our
   yard and jump the fence at the back of the house. In the autumn the
   prairie chicken came in great numbers and spent the winter in the
   wooded country around us. It was not far from the river and they
   delighted to follow the course of the Navasot' as we called the river
   nearest to us.
   
   "These prairie chickens would come to our house just before sunset and
   sit in rows on the comb of the house, while on the nearby ravines the
   trees would be bending with their weight. Now they are all gone.
   00055"To my mind the wild pigeons were the most remarkable of all the
   wild bird life. I have seen the sky covered with them passing in such
   long files that you could not see the beginning or the ending of the
   line. So far as the eye could see there was nothing but pigeons. These
   birds nested along the Pacific shores of the states of Oregon and
   Washington and were going to the warmer waters of the Gulf for the
   winter. On their migration to the Gulf of Mexico they would stop over
   in our vicinity to feed on the acorns which were plentiful.
   
   "Some years ago during the mating season of these birds there came a
   severe storm that visited the coasts of these states and destroyed
   them, young and old. A story said to be true is that there was only
   one of these countless thousands of birds (pigeons) that escaped the
   fury of the storm, and it was captured by a lady in New York City. It
   is said that she sought with all diligence to find a mate for this
   bird, but all in vain. Finally, the bird died from old age and now
   they are extinct. In the early days the quail was as numerous as the
   English sparrows, a few yet remain, but the deer, prairie chicken and
   wild turkey have disappeared from this section of the country.
   
   "Springfield was the county seat of Limestone County when I was a boy.
   Following the War between the States, the Houston and Texas Central
   Railroad built through this section on its way from Houston to Dallas,
   and missed old Springfield by three miles, establishing the towns of
   Mexia and Groesbeck, leaving the old town of the once county seat to
   its dreams of by-gone days when the colony under Sterling Robertson in
   the days of long ago dreamed of this being the counties foremost town.
   Now it is left with only a few negro cabins to remind one of the past.
   00066So, Springfield died and Groesbeck and Mexia prospered. The court
   house at old Springfield burned and a new one was built at Groesbeck.
   Other court houses have since been built at Groesbeck, but they are of
   a later day. While yet a child father showed me the heap of ruins
   which marked the site of the old court house at Springfield. In the
   year 1890 I saw the new court house at Groesbeck burn. Soon after a
   more pretentious building was erected and still later another one was
   erected near, although the one which was built following the one which
   was burned is partially dismantled, the main building is still
   standing. The present court house cost about half a million dollars
   and is one of the prettiest of the state. The vicinity near old
   Springfield is enlivened et present by the C. C. C., Camp. A seven
   hundred and fifty acre lake nearby which is to be used for fishing and
   recreational purposes. Perhaps the ghosts of those other days will
   resent the interruption of their dreams but may they awake to dream
   again of the happy days gone by!
   
   "Father was a thrifty and busy farmer. He kept his boys busy in the
   fields and attending to live-stock. Once a year he carried me to Mexia
   where I saw the most modern cotton gin machinery. In our community we
   had two gins that were run by horse power, that is the horse pulled
   the lever by which the gin was operated. One gin had a box for baling
   the cotton. The ginner distributed the cotton to the gin saws with his
   hands. The screw pin was made of wood and was about 15 feet long. A
   mule hitched to a lever turned the screw and packed the bale in the
   press box. As a lad I saw the evolution of the ginning industry. Sam
   the old-time horse power pin changed to the modern gins of today.
   00077[DEL: " :DEL] In those early days the cotton seed was counted
   worthless. Mr. Smith said that if we did not haul the seed away we
   could not gin with him. Later, seed was bought and shipped to Europe
   at $2.00 a ton. Every one knows now the importance of cotton seed as a
   source of fats and oils. Every one knows the story of King Cotton as
   he has sometimes held the wealth of hundreds and millions, especially
   in the South, in his hands. Although he will never be the king of
   ante-bellum days again, when he brought such enormous wealth to the
   plantation owners. Yet we still depend mainly upon old King Cotton.
   
   "In 1876 when our present state constitution was written, there
   appeared in the convention two groups of statesmen holding two
   dividing views of school matters. One held that there should be no
   public education at the expense of the taxpayers, but that the expense
   of teaching the youth of the land be borne by the parents and the
   public school fund.
   
   "Under that system there grew up some good private schools in
   Limestone County. One of these was at Thornton with Prof. E. C.
   Chambers, as principal. Another was located et Central Institute with
   John Parker as head of it. This was an academy and a military school.
   Mr. Parker was an uncle of the late William Kennedy of Groesbeck. Many
   in Limestone and nearby counties have attended these schools in the
   early days.
   
   "As a result of the opposition to taxation for public education there
   developed a system of community schools maintained by the meager
   apportionment of public funds and tuition, the other group of
   statesmen in the convention contended for formation of school
   districts with power to levy and collect taxes for the maintaining of
   the public schools. 00088"When I began school work there were two
   outstanding school men of that day. One of these man was Dr. L. A.
   Johnson, chairman of the board of regents at Tehuscana, who found time
   to attend the teachers institute and assist the teachers in their
   work. The other was R. B. Cousins, Superintendent of the Mexia Public
   Schools, who was a friend of the school teacher and public education.
   Through rallies, meetings and teachers institutes he contacted the
   public and teachers of this county.
   
   "In 1905, Mr. Cousins was elected State Superintendent of Public
   Instruction and began many reforms of the public school system. Under.
   his leadership the legislature passed a law abolishing the community
   school system whereever it prevailed. It then provided for the office
   of County School Superintendent in all counties eligible as to
   population. The same law made it compulsory for the Commissioners
   Court to appoint a superintendent to hold office until the election
   following his appointment. The Commissioners Court of Limestone County
   was composed of the following: Hon. James Kimbell, County Judge; R. M.
   Usury of Groesbeck; Chas. Roberts of Oletha, Rado Steele of Mexia and
   J. K. Calloway of Coolidge.
   
   "In 1907, I was appointed the first County School Superintendent of
   Limestone County, and served contemporary with Mr. Cousins, State
   Superintendent. One of my first duties was to see to the formation of
   Common School Districts. When I qualified as first County
   Superintendent there was but one painted school house in the county
   and that was at Munger. The condition of the county school property
   under the community school system was a reproach to the county. When
   the people learned that under the district system they had power to
   levy taxes for school purposes, the 00099building of elegant school
   property was begun in all parts of the county; the schools were
   provided with good equipment, terms were lengthened and teachers
   salaries were increased.
   
   "Another reform introduced by Mr. Cousins was the adoption of uniform
   text-books. Before this law was passed the teacher had to teach the
   books brought by the pupils. There were no uniformity of text-books.
   When, as a young man I went to the old town of Armour (now Coolidge)
   and taught school, on the first day of school, a boy of twelve years
   of age, brought a Barnes History of the United States, and a Steele's
   Physics. These were the only books he brought. This boy was Clyde
   Collum. He is now Dr. Collum of Mart, Texas. With the uniform text
   books, I was able to classify and grade the rural schools. I also
   organized the first County School Board of this county.
   
   "Before the office of County Superintendent was created, the duties of
   the County Superintendent were performed by the County Judge. The
   first one I knew who acted in this capacity was Judge Chambers; the
   second was Judge Alf Harper and the third and last judge to take over
   these duties was Judge James Kimball. Judge Kimball employed a young
   man to transact the school business by the name of Duke Rankin. He is
   now Dr. Rankin, a prominent dentist of Groesbeck.
   
   "In 1932, I was a member of the State Legislature and I wrote the law
   providing for a school supervisor of Limestone County, to be under the
   supervision of the County Superintendent. This law leaves it optional
   with the County School Board as to the election of a supervisor.
   001010"Miss Georgia Hayes is the first.supervisor of Limestone County.
   Following is a list of County School Superintendents of Limestone
   County, up to the present time: J. T. Cox (myself) Groesbeck; J. R.
   Adkins, now of Coolidge; T. L. Prichard, Houston; Cora Ferguson,
   Groesbeck; J.J. Barfield, Groesbeck; and J. J. Bates, Groesbeck."

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