Hopkins CO. TX - Hargrave Family

From: June E. Tuck <jparks@neto.com>

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From the historical files of June E. Tuck, who does not validate or
dispute any historical facts in the article.

People have used Eli Hargrave^Òs histories of the county. Please, lets
give Mr. Hargrave his deserving credit.

INCIDENTS IN LIVES OF SOME MEMBERS OF THE HARGRAVE FAMILY

By Eli Hargrave - S.S. Gazette - 1938

The Hargrave family were perhaps natives of Germany, from thence to
England and afterward to America where they settled in South Carolina
about 1760.

The parents of this family, whose name was William, had three sons,
James, a stock farmer and slave owner, went to Louisiana. William Jr.
went to Carmel, Illinois. Nothing more was positively known by the writer
of these two brothers. Hezekiah, the third son, was married to Susan
McMurtrie in 1790 in South Carolina. In 1792, they moved to Kentucky
where they lived for a time on Mud River in what is now Green County.
They afterward moved to Illinois, but failed to contact the brother
William. Here they remained till ten children were born into their home,
seven boys and three girls. The family then moved to Indiana where they
lived in and around Boonville, county site of Warrick County. In this
vicinity these children were all married and many of the descendants of
this family reside in Warrick County today.

In the summer of 1842 a preparation was made by four of these brothers,
William, James, Eldred Glen, and Harvey, for a trip to the south, hoping
for their destination the new Republic of Texas. Early in the fall
William and Harvey, the eldest and youngest members of this family,
loaded their meager belongings with their young families into ox wagons
and made the start on this three months journey. There were 18 persons in
this caravan, William Hargrave and wife, Letis (Lettie) with six children
and one grandchild, Elizabeth Woods with her father, John Woods. Also
Harvey Hargrave and wife, Peggie, with four children and one niece,
Frances Hargrave, and according to our best information, a man named
Hunter. He was later to be the second person buried in the McFall
cemetery.

After these families had been on their way for a few weeks, James and
Eldred Glen, having completed their preparations began the same route of
travel and contending for the same destination. They also were in ox
wagons with their families and house wares, making a merry trek in search
of a new home. This caravan consisted, to the best of our knowledge, of
about 25 persons, all in covered wagons and on foot, trudging in the
dense woods and bleak prairies, in dim roads or pathways with few
bridges, the streams being crossed by fording or on rafts built of logs
and poles cut by the men and boys in this party. With a scarcity of money
and feed, the teams must have time by the wayside to graze for grass that
the journey may be continued.

This second caravan consisted of Eldred Glen Hargrave and wife, Nancy,
with seven children and one grandchild, Melissa Moore, with one niece,
Jane Hargrave, sister to Frances mentioned in the other caravan. They
were daughters of Seth Hargrave, deceased. Also James Hargrave and wife,
Hannah, with three married sons, Hezekiah, Ratliff, and Robert, with
their families, though I do not know the exact number in each.

The first families arrived in Clarksville, Red River County, the latter
part of December, 1842, and made their way to what became Sulphur Bluff
in Hopkins County, in time for Perry Hargrave, son of William Hargrave,
to celebrate his 21st birthday anniversary, December 30, 1842, in Texas,
he being the first person to reach his majority in what was to be Hopkins
County, Texas, being a Republic at that time.

The second party were still on their way and while making the trip, a
year-old child, Lewis Morgan, son of Glen and Nancy Hargrave, sickened
and died October 17, 1842. No one now knows his resting place. After he
was put away the journey was resumed and about the middle of February
1843, this second party reached their destination, now the northern part
of Hopkins County. Here they found William Hargrave and family domiciled
in a pole pen where they had pitched their tents and prepared to spend
the winter. This settlement was near the present site of Nelta and was
made the home of Uncle Billie and family 40 years before Nelta was known.
Here the family resided, building log houses and barns, clearing some
good bottom land which was enclosed by a brush fence, later by oak rails
and then barbed wire. This patriot remained here for 30 years till his
death in 1872, his wife going in 1880. Both are buried at McFall
graveyard. This home was afterwards occupied by his son, Perry, in his
later years who was living on the same land at his death in 1906. Then a
grandson, John Car, occupied the same log house which during these years
had been remodeled until his death in 1925, and now his son, Stinson, is
living at the same place and some of the logs are being used in the
dwelling that were put there by Uncle Billie in 1843, and this same land
in the edge of Sulphur River bottom is being cultivated and has been
cultivated during all these 95 years by members of this same family and
it still produces some of the best corn in this county.

Harvey Hargrave made his settlement three miles farther west toward
Birthright, though the Birthrights were not there till after the Civil
War. Here he and his wife, Peggie, remained for a number years in their
log settlement till their last children, a pair of twins, were born at
her death June 5, 1858. He was afterwards married to Kate Putman in 1862,
when he moved with his family to Old Tarrant where he had a business
establishment with Mr. William Sickles, father of Ham and Bob Sickles, as
his partner. After this business career had ended, he with his family
moved back to the old home where they resided till his death, April 18,
1881. His was the first Masonic burial the writer ever witnessed. His
wife, Aunt Kate, as we called her, taught the first school, a
subscription school, at Oakdale. The building stood a few hundred yards
northwest from the present Oakdale school building. It was named Oakdale
by Stella Putman, who afterwards married J. H. Dinsmore, who became a
prominent educator and lawyer in this county. She was sister to Aunt
Kate.

The second caravan with Jimmie and Glen Hargrave as principals, found
their brothers penned up for the winter and on arrival were invited in to
share with them their rude (crude) hospitality.

Glen Hargrave, who was my grandfather, made his settlement on the brink
of Sulphur River bottom, where he built the first hewn log house in what
was afterward Hopkins County. Here he remained on his little farm where
he raised some stock on the free range to help him to earn a living. He
was a gunsmith by trade and a fine marksman with his rifle. At this time,
this country was infested with all kinds of wild animals such as
raccoons, bob cats, panthers and occasionally a black bear. The woods
were full of deer, squirrels and wild turkeys, so it was no trouble for
them to have plenty of fresh meat. He died October 24, 1859, and was
buried near his home in what is known as the Hargrave graveyard, his
being among the first bodies put there. His wife died January 6, 1897
(86) in California.

Jimmie Hargrave^Òs settlement was made some two or three miles farther
east on the same ridge and northeast from Nelta on what is now known as
the Billie Hudson home place and owned at present by Horace Spears. His
home stood northeast and across the branch from Horace^Òs home.

The Nelta community was then and for a long time afterward called
Pleasant Hill and became Nelta when they secured a post office in 1882.
It is said that William Kyle suggested the name Nelta for the post
office, he having had a sweetheart by that name in time passed.

When these Hargrave brothers landed here they found that one white man,
John Bivins, and family located in a camp on Wolf Pen Creek, east and
south from the present site of Flora. He, with his family, soon
disappeared, no one knowing his whereabouts.

Hezekiah, Ratliff, and Robert Hargrave, sons of Uncle Jimmie, were young
married men at this time and members of this second party that arrived in
February 1843. They had been directed to these parts by one Cealon (sic)
Stout from Red River County, which had been a settlement since 1830. He
advised them to go to Sulphur River where wood and water would be
plentiful and where they might have protection from the marauding Indians
tribes. So, these young adventurous boys took his word and made a
settlement on the bluff bank of this stream where they built a work shop
and blacksmith shop where they were very proficient, soon had some land
cleared for the raising of corn, potatoes and the like.

They at once saw the necessity of a grist mill for the grinding of corn
so they set to work and founded this enterprise with Robert Hargrave
preparing the mill rocks and Hezekiah and Ratliff aiding him in the
manufacture and making of their necessary tools such as plows, hammers,
chisels, etc. They were real mechanics and could do this work at their
own initiative. They put their mill in the bed of the creek near a steep
bluff bank where they could utilize water power for the running of their
machinery. They erected a log hut to be used for school and church
purposes, built another for a drug store in which the post office was
kept with Robert Hargrave as first postmaster. Mr. South served as their
doctor and drug man, and while he was unlettered, could not read a line
of print, he was a fair success as a practitioner. The mail was brought
from Paris, Texas, then called Pin Hook. As they were subject to bad
roads, swollen stream and overflowed bottoms, it was often days and
sometimes weeks before they could have the news, as mail was carried on
horse-back. From this bluff bank on the river the burg was named Sulphur
Bluff.

Their first preacher was the Rev. Joe Bishop of the Baptist faith, and
while he was an interesting talker and full of his subject, he could not
read a line of print. The first death to occur was William Wallace
Hargrave (5,) son of William and Lettie Hargrave. He died August 26,
1843, and was the first person buried at the McFall graveyard. The first
wedding was October 16th on the same year, Thomas Car Clark and Elizabeth
Barilla Hargrave being the contracting parties. Abner McKinzey came from
Clarksville on horse-back to perform the marriage ceremony. They became
Ned Clark^Òs grandparents. The first election at Sulphur Bluff was in
September of 1844, when Anson Jones was elected President of the Texas
Republic. The first barbecue was on July 4, 1845.

At this primitive burg there are signs of an old graveyard though we have
no knowledge of any one being put there. This settlement was inhabited by
a dozen families or more that remained there for a few years when the
village of New Sulphur Bluff was established on the prairie at its
present site. The writer has visited this old historic spot on the creek
where you see signs of a settlement, such as ancient china and cedar
trees, plies of rock and dirt that would indicate a stick and dirt
chimney had once been in evidence. Not many summers past Mrs. Hargrave
and I , with our good friends, John E. and Mrs. Stribling, visited at
this point. While we were viewing the scenes and pondering over some of
the happenings of the past, we incidentally enjoyed a nice juicy Hopkins
County watermelon just as near this old bluff bank as we could get. We
spent the remainder of the day farther down the river where Dr. John
caught the best fish that was hooked in our crowd.

We think, if the Echo man will take his good wife into their limousine
and drive through that rough and tumble wooded country to this memorable
spot and look over it carefully, he would never again express surprise at
the Indian tribes of that day being unable to find and molest this first
Hargrave settlers in Hopkins County. Eli Hargrave