Walter James Finley Biography, Bosque County, TX =============================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, material may be freely used by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material, AND permission is obtained from the contributor of the file. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organizations. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for non-commercial purposes, 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. =============================================================================== Submitted by Virginia M. Finley A little bit of history on the English Colony and Walter Timms' life in that county. The following was dictated by Walter James Finley, grandson of Walter Timms, before his death in the 1970's. Passed down by word-of-mouth from WALTER TIMMS (1847-1935) to LENNA TIMMS FINLEY STEVENSON (1874-1940) to WALTER JAMES FINLEY (1801-1980) to VIRGINIA FINLEY (1928 to present) to DOUGLAS WORKINGS (1948 to present). A Colony of English immigrants settled on the Brazos River, I believe near Kimball's Bend, Bosque County, Texas. Kimball's Bend was a trail town at a crossing of the Brazos River. The town was laid out and plotted by ERVIN DeCORDOVA, a brother of JACOB DeCORDOVA, his plat, beautifully drawn, is filed of record in Plat Book #1, in Court House Records of Bosque County, at Meridian, Texas. "English Settlement at Kimball's Bend before the Civil War". Walter Timms, born September 12, 1847, was the son of Jesse Timms and Harriet Faulks (daughter of Charles Faulks) of Moreton-in-the-Marsh, Gloucestershire, England. Jesse and Harriet Timms had eight children: Temperance, James, Walter, Thomas, Richard, Elizabeth, Henry and William. Walter, owning to economic conditions, lack of food, etc., was sent to an aunt and uncle at the English Colony started in Bosque County at the age of 13. His brother, JAMES TIMMS, had been sent over previously. (James Timms settled in or near Mayhann, Bosque County, Texas, where he married and raised a family.) The aunt and uncle returned to England, leaving the two boys on their own. Walter was apprenticed to an entrepeneuer and land developer, Jacob DeCordova, a spanish jew and a fine, wonderful and understanding man. DeCordova's Bend is named for Jacob DeCordova. After Mr. DeCordova's death, Walter Timms was a trail driver and representative of local farmers and ranchers going up trail with herds of cattle, bringing back the money in gold to pay various ranchers for different amounts of cattle thrown in to these trail drives. Walter Timms ran and operated the Ferry across the Brazos River. He married a widow, ELZEY PAYNE LANCASTER, who had two children. Walter and Elzey had one daughter, Lenna, born July 22, 1873. Elzey's died during the birth of their second child (she died during child birth in 1873, her death attributed to excessive use of choloform used by a Saturday night drunken town doctor). After her death the children of her first marriage went to live with relatives and they settled in West, Texas. Elzey Timms' grave is one of eight "unmarked" graves that were moved to Young & Martagorda Counties. Walter borrowed money on his farm (recorded in the survey book #1 years 1870-1880, Index of Deed Records, where you will find "Headright Surveys" made to Walter Timms) and took his two year old daughter, Lenna, to England where he learned, in the course of two years, the watchmakers trade from a man named Leach. Walter regarded Mr. Leach as a very fine, understanding gentleman. After two years in England, being unable to stand the conditions and climate of England, Walter and Lenna returned to Central Texas. He sold his holdings in Bosque County and moved to Cleburne. (The Santa Fe Railroad had built through Cleburne and set up Cleburne as a Division Point with shops, offices and so forth.) Timms opened a Jewelry Shop in the early 1890's. He purchased the Bostick Farm of 320 acres, located 6 miles north of Cleburne on the Nolan River. Lenna Timms, born July 22, 1872 Kimball Bend, Bosque Co, TX, (Walter's mother), married James Benjamin Finley of Hillsboro, AR., in Cleburne, TX. 1900. This union produced one son, Walter James Finley. After Ben Finley's death Lenna married Charles James Stevenson, resident of Cleburne, employed by the Santa Fe Rail Road.