Freestone County, Texas
Reflections


Freestone Past/Present
By J.R. “ Sonny” SESSIONS Special to The News
More Jesse James Family and Dalton’s

Visiting with Streetman area resident Buck Lindsey who lives in Streetman area shortly after the 
story on J.R. Manahan and Frank Dalton told the following: Buck is 86 years old a former Deputy 
Sheriff, Constable and Deputy Constable. A native of Harris Co. around Humble and the San Jacinto 
River says as a very young boy camped out on the San Jacinto River with his Grandpa Ned Lindsey 
and group of older friends, he doesn’t remember their names but listened to the stories they told. 
Grandpa Lindsey and others told of being involved with the James and Dalton boys many years 
before. Several times they met and made trips horseback south in the fall and north in the spring, 
 
Sometimes to Comanche which a very small town then, Ned was involved in a shootout in a saloon 
which he was never charged. Sometimes they went to the Red River area, he told they would drive 
cattle into Oklahoma and sell them to ranchers and others. On the way south they would drive 
cattle to the Magnolia and Houston area and sell them. Buck didn’t think it was their cattle, but 
rustled cattle they found on the way. Magnolia was a meeting place and sometimes a departing 
place for the group on these ventures. They told about liking the Daltons and Frank James but that 
Jesse was bad and mean. 
 
Buck said he was very young when he heard these stories from the group, and most including his 
Grandpa Ned were very old. Buck said Ned was tough and didn’t take much from anyone. Buck 
really doesn’t know anything except what he heard about 80 years ago. He wasn’t old enough to 
ask any questions, just listen. An interesting story, could it be related to the man Frank Dalton who 
visited in Fairfield in the l930’s. 
 
*** 
 
The Kirvin Centennial publication though very limited has opened doors of the past and brought 
contacts that not anticipated but greatly appreciated. One of these was hearing from lady known in 
California as Kay Jones but by me as Katie Smith as I remember a natural blond and friendly lassie, 
a sister to Richard Smith whom I appreciated her friendship nearly 70 years ago. Katie told of the 
hard times in the 30’s but how they enjoyed themselves. She told of she and brother Leroy 
spending the night with Joy Giles and her brother. Joy’s mother and Aunt would hang a sheet up 
between the rooms and play act like it was a movie screen (what fun). She also said she 
remembered the churches and Mrs. Mayo’s hotel. She told of walking to school with the Hughes 
boys and Harry Glenn the cutest, he and Leroy picked on her but Billy Hughes protected her. 
 
Katie talked about walking the railroad to school after being told by their mother to stay off the 
tracks as this was where the hobo’s were, but they liked to see who could stay on the rails the 
longest. She told of going to school where Mrs. Barnhill spoiled all including me who never went to 
school in Kirven. She said they hated Miss Freeman (Inez) for trying to teach them and make them 
learn. She related about on the way home when she about 8 or 9 and a strange man drove up and 
asked if she knew where her Daddy Grundy Smith lived, the man laughed and she said I know who 
you are, you are our brother who was 20 years older and left home before she born working and 
sending money home to take care of us kids, a shame, but thats the way it was then. She also told 
of the long chain swings they clapped their hands and some one pushed you. Said she loved it but 
scared her “Bloomers” would slip off as her mother made all their clothes-they were big enough to 
grow into. 
 
Thank you Katy (hope you don’t mind me calling you that) for sharing with us. Only the old folks 
today can relate to what you told. My family was more fortunate than most but I know well what 
many went thru.  
 
*** 
 
Grandpa’s Report 
 
Guess someone needed pair small cyclone fence gates going into Woodland Cemetery north east of 
Kirven as both gone. 

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