Freestone County, Texas History 1882 News ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald February 2, 1882 Zacharic, executrix, vs. Waldron et als; appeal from Freestone county. Under the statute of the 15th legislature, which was the sae as that of 1818, the heirs of a deceased person were not required to be joined with the executor or administrator in suits involving the title of lands. Reversed and remanded. ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald February 16, 1882 Page: 3 WORTHAM Correspondence of the Herald: WORTHAM, February 7. - Rain yet hinders all farming operations, and the prospects are that a large portion of our rich lands will go uncultivated. The mesquite grass never was so good before and stock are all doing well on it. County bridges on creeks have been greatly damaged. District court is in session at Fairfield, Judge Bradley presiding. The late decision in the courts on the Mercer colony suit has awakened considerable interest with those on the lands in Navarro county. Dallas, as usual, has been well represented by drummers, in our town lately. The greater portion of our grocery trade goes to Dallas. This will finally divert much of our other trade there. Railroad competition is much needed to the upper country. [same issue] ...Alice M. Adams vs. Mary McCoy, appea?; from Freestone county. The appellant is heir of William B. Moore, deceased, had received from the estate property of more value than the unpaid balance on the judgement... ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald February 23, 1882 Galveston George Roller, jr., vs. the state; from Freestone county. Affirmed. ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald March 30, 1882 Lundy Cornish vs. Rebecca Cornish; from Freestone county. Our statutes do not give parties to divorce suits the right to testify in their own behalf. Such an innovation upon sound public... [same issue] William ????? vs. William Boyd et al.; appeal from Freestone county. An appellant must stand on his case as made out by himself, and the court will extend him no relief which he has not asked.... ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald May 11, 1882 Page: 4 WORTHAM Correspondence of the Herald: WORTHAM, May 6, 1882 - We are glad to report the rain sufficient to saturate the earth after a long drouth. One inch of rain fell her last night, the third day of showery weather. There was never so much display of electricity before. Every shower of rain is attended with fierce lightning. Crop reports are favorable, except wheat. Our soil is not adapted to wheat. The fruit crop was never so promising. The health was never better. Some complaint of poor stands of corn. Four hundred mutton sheep were shipped from here to-day. Cattle shipping is going on all the time. Mr. Stuart has purchased the mill property here. We are under obligations to Trinity University for supplying us with first- class preaching. The light of that institution is illuminating this whole country, intellectually and morally. May it never grow less. McCain & Griffith, of Mexia, have opened up at this place. ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald June 1, 1882 MEXIA Special to the Herald: MEXIA, May 24 - Deputy Sheriff Waller arrested Albert Evans, from Freestone county, for stealing a horse in Hubbard City, and lodged him in jail at Groesbeck. ... ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald September 1, 1882 Page: 5 Counties in Texas FREESTONE (Area 909 square miles. Population 15,000 proportion of blacks one-third.) The physical peculiarities of Freestone county are prairie and timbered lands generally level soil of sandy loam, and about three-fourths of it arable. The greater portion of the county is covered with timber, oak, ash, elm, hickory, etc. The native grasses are abundant and nutritious in the eastern and western portions of the county, the section well watered with creeks, the domestic supply furnished by wells and springs, and about 50,000 acres of county under cultivation. The trade of this section goes to Galveston and Houston chiefly. The Houston & Texas Central and the International & Great Northern roads pass through Freestone. There are some eighty free schools and all the various religious denominations in the county. The live stock showing is: Cattle, 22,000; horses and mules, 7,000; sheep, 2,500; and about 25,000 hogs. Stock generally requires some winter feeding. Average cost of work stock in Horses, $40; mules, $50, and oxen, $50 per yoke. The crops produced are principally cotton, corn and oats, farming being the chief industry. Lands sell for from $2 to $10 per acre for wild, and for from $5 to $20 for improved. Rents about $3 per acre. Lands are usually sold on two and three years time. The county is out of debt, taxes light and the health of the people good with the exception of bilious and malarial complaints. Vegetables and fruits are raised in abundance, and the average of cotton to the acre is one-third of a bale, of corn 15 bushels, and of wheat and oats 10 and 40 bushels respectively. Wortham is the railway station. [same issue] Our Railroads ----------- A Glance at the Now Tremendous Railroad System Extending Over the State of Texas ----------- [mentions Wortham in passing] ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald September 21, 1882 Page: 4 WORTHAM Special to the Herald: WORTHAM, September 14. - One of the party concerned in the celebrated Amalt cattle stealing in this county, got two and a half years in the penitentiary. Jeff Dun skipped his bond and Jim Anderson's trial was put off. Ike Louis, colored, obtained a verdict of $3,000 against the Houston & Texas Central railroad for mashing off the hand of his three-year old child while playing by the track. An appeal was taken by the defendant. Woodland has just given one of the finest temperance public dinners. After the whites the colored people were feasted, and still plenty was left. Mr. Andrews acquitted himself nobly in a lecture, first to the whites then to the colored people. Mr. Hodge Ferrell and old and noted citizen has died. He is much regretted. The temperance reform council is working well here. Several cotton pickers are here from the upper counties engaged in cotton picking, as our cotton is much in advance on account of less rain here. Owing to a misunderstanding there was not a general vote in all the precincts in our county, Freestone, on the local option. [same issue] CORSICANA ... Cards are out for the marriage of our genial felllow-townsman Will Ransom to Miss Callie Bradley, of Fairfield, on the 21st instant. Miss Callis is the daughter of Judge Bradley, of the district court, and a great favorite with the young men of Corsicana. ... ================================================================== San Marcos Free Press - Thursday, October 5, 1882 - Page: 6 Fairfield Recorder: Two young men of Ward Prairie, Messrs. E[paphroditus "Epps"] W. Odom and J. W. Willard ran a race one day this week to see who could pick the most cotton. They started about sunrise stopped a half hour for dinner and picked until sunset. When the cotton waa weighed up Mr. Odom had 608 pounds and Mr. Willard 560. ================================================================== The Dallas Weekly Herald December 7, 1882 Page: 5 News by Specials Mexia MEXIA, Dec. 5- [Special] - Deputy Sheriff Rowin, of Tarrant county, accompanied by Sheriff Childs, of Freestone county, took the cars here this evening, having in charge one James Creswell, alias James Williams, charged with the murder of a Mr. Edwards, in Tarrant county, in 1869. Creswell was arrested in Van Zandt county last month, on a charge of stealing a lot of horses from Mr. John Snapp, of Wortham. During his imprisonment in the Freestone county jail it was discovered that the party was wanted in Fort Worth. Since the committal of the murder he has been in Arkansas, New Mexico, and Mexico. He has been residing in Freestone county a year or more, and is known as James Williams.