First Settling of Hopkins County TX - By W. T. Martin

Submitted by:  June E. Tuck <jparks@neto.com>

************************************************************************
USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE:  These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced 
in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or
persons.  Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, 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. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives
to store the file permanently for free access.

http://www.usgwarchives.net/
***********************************************************************

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

(Edited)

First Settling of Hopkins County

by W. T. Martin of Birthright

1921

Editor Gazette:

My father settled seven miles south of Sulphur Springs at or close to
where Union Church and school house now stand, 3 miles west of Reily
Springs, in 1854 or 1855. There were but few of us, but we had a little
settlement. A. M. Martin, J. J. Martin, Lafayette Martin, Billie Melton,
the Gardners and Thrashers lived there.

Deer and turkey were plentiful. We could step out and kill a deer or
turkey in a little while any time. We did not have matches those days,
but when the fire went out we would either strike fire with a flint or go
to a neighbor^Òs and borrow a chunk of fire. I have gone to a neighbor^Òs
many a time to borrow fire. The first crop of wheat that we raised we
cleaned off a place on the ground and set the bundles up on the end in a
large circle and we boys got our horses and Billie Melton^Òs horses and
rode them around on the straw until we got the wheat out. Then we got
pitch forks made out of forked poles and raked the straw off and winded
the wheat out.

Our first school house was (at) Macedonia. It was a log school house
covered with boards and had a stick and mud chimney and split logs for
seats. It was about a mile north of where Union is now, where there is a
little burying ground. The first school we had was taught by a man named
Cherry, and I think the next teacher was named Lyons. There was no school
at Reily Springs at that time, and the children came from the Reily
settlement to our school. The Hurleys, Hills, Millers, Tuckers, and
Cliftons, who lived south of us sent their children there. I do not
remember all of the children^Òs names, but there were Green and Easter
Hurley, Allen, was too young for this school, Tom, Billie, and Melissa
Hill, Henderson, Walter and Azalee Sullivan, and the three Martin
brother^Òs children. I remember that we were going to school there when
officers came and drafted the teachers to go to the war. All those who
were children then have scattered and most of them have passed over the
river. We moved from there to where I now live, 12 miles north of Sulphur
Springs, in the winter of 1866, and I have been here ever since.