Freestone County, Texas History News of 1855 Texas State Gazette published in Austin, Texas April 21, 1855 edition Page: 270 Temperance in Freestone - Rev. Mr. James Young addressed the people at Fairfield on the 10th ult., in favor of the Legislature passing a prohibitory liquor law. A vote taken at the close stood 59 for, to 11 against such a law. It was resolved to secure the election of "high minded, competent and honorable men, to legislative and executive offices--giving preference to those who will advocate and procure the passage of a prohibitroy [misspelled] liquor-law by the legislature." ================================= Texas State Gazette published in Austin, Texas May 12, 1855 edition Page: 292 We learn from the Leon Pioneer that Waco Edwards, an old Texan, a citizen of Freestone county, was killed a short time since by a young man, by the named of Horn. It seems that Edwards had made some remarks derogatory to the honesty of Horn, which coming to his ears, he rode up to Edward's home, called him out and asked him if he said so and so, on Edwards answering in the affirmative he shot him down in his tracks with a double barreled shot gun. This is rumor - we do not vouch or its correctness. Report says that Horn has been arrested." ================================= Deseret News published in Utah May 23, 1855 edition Page: 5 Elder Benjamin L. Clapp, when last heard from, was in Troy, Freestone Co., Texas, and expected to take a company, mostly composed of his relatives, through to Utah this season. ================================= Texas State Gazette published in Austin, Texas May 26, 1855 edition Page: 307 [The man who died was Thomas J. Wilson. The merchant, Mr. Gill, is believed to be John T. Gill. The location is believed to be the settlement of West Point (later called Butler). See Galveston Weekly News - June 12, 1855 - Page: 1 for more info.] A Man Buried Alive in a Well - A most horrid circumstance of this sort occurred a few days since at West Point landing, on the Trinity River, in Freestone county. A stranger, who represented himself as a well digger, and whose name was afterwards ascertained from a letter to be Wilson, went down to clean out the well of Mr. Gill, a merchant of West Point. -- The well was 60 feet deep and curbed with wood. Wilson descended in a bucket, and when at or near the bottom stepped upon the curbing, which gave way and kept failing until he was covered to a considerable depth with timber and dirt. When the curbing commenced falling he caught the rope, but the weight of his body and the falling dirt and timber, broke it. The curbing seemed to have lodged above him, and left him in a sort of vault. Every effort was made to rescue him by those above. He could be heard talking, and urging in the most pathetic accents his rescuers to hasten, as the timber and earth were fast settling down upon him. Every effort to rescue the poor man was without success, and in a few moments after the falling in of the curbing, the walls of the well gave way and filled it with earth for about 30 feet, literally burying the wretched man alive, and destroying every hope of his rescue. At the last accounts, our informant says, the body still remained in the well. What an awful death. What must have been the feelings of the wretched man as he felt the timber and earth slowly pressing around him, cutting off his breath and pressing out his life, in awful impenetrable darkness, beyond the possibility of human succor. -- Leon Pioneer