Taming Texas: 1800 - 1901

By Ed H Whorton

Ed H Whorton was born in New Mexico but has lived in Texas most of his life. He has recently renewed his interest in history and historical fiction. His mother was an avid reader of books and poetry and encouraged her son to do likewise. His father was in the Army Communications Corp during World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star. Ed served in the United States Navy during the Viet Nam war both on shore and shipboard. He is married, has two daughters and three grand children. He has one sister who lives in California and no brothers.
For the last few years he has been looking at family history and discovered that a Great Great Grandfather was an itinerant preacher know as The Fighting Parson riding the circuit in Texas during the early years of that state. Ed also has written religious commentary and a childrens book which are yet to be published. He currently resides in Houston, Texas with his wife who is a registered nurse and education coordinator for a local hospital.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 27, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465374356

Ed H Whorton

I was born in Clayton, New Mexico in 1943 while my father was serving in the United States Army Communications Corp. He laid communications lines from ship to shore at Saipan Island, in the Pacific, and was awarded the Bronze star for his dedication to the cause. I had one sister who lived in California who is now deceased. My parents moved back to Vernon, Texas when I was two years old and I was raised in Texas from that time on. My grandfather owned a furniture store there and my Dad worked in a cotton seed delinting plant. My mother loved to read and passed that desire down to me. As I grew older, I developed a great fondness for Texas. My parents, sister and I moved to Lubbock, Texas, while I was in the sixth grade. I met my wife in the eighth grade and we were married in 1964. I have four grandchildren, ages six months to 16 years old. I served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War. We have two daughters, born while we were in the Navy. One of them has three children and lives in Virginia and the other lives in Missouri and she gave birth to her first child this year. Many of my relatives lived in New Mexico and Colorado. I am writing about and have fond memories of my adventures in New Mexico, the land of Enchantment.

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Taming Texas

1800 - 1901

Ed H Whorton

Copyright © 2011 by Ed H Whorton.

ISBN:          Ebook                                      978-1-4653-7435-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was created in the United States of America.

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CONTENTS

Preface

Prolog

Early American History 1607—America Begins

1801—Early Texas Settlements

1821—Inventions

1827—Religion in America

A Child is Born

Republic of Texas

On My Own

Riding Hard

American Indians in Texas

Weapons of Choice

Mexican War

Gold! Gold!

Finding Real Gold

Origins of Methodism

Civil War Events

Characters Welcome

Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

Post War Reconstruction

Outlaws and Peacemakers

Preaching the Word of God

Cattle Trails

Riding the Rails

A New Century Begins

Galveston Hurricane

Epilog

A Collection of Sermons

What Think Ye of Christ?

Equality in Christ Sermon

Preface

The following story is patterned after the life of Andrew Jackson Potter sometimes known as the ‘Fighting Parson’. He was my Great, Great Grandfather and his influence affected many men, women, and children in Texas. He found religion at a camp meeting at Crofft’s Prairie in Texas. His compassion for God and love for the common man saved several marriages and prevented numerous shootings. He was strong and wasn’t afraid to step into any situation. There are only a few references that I could find that provided actual facts. For that reason I have invented the Reverend Paul Bunch and his family. The story follows an historical timeline. I am telling this story to honor my ancestry as it relates to Texas. I hope that you will find inspiration from the telling of this story and new insight into the struggles that confronted the pioneers as they blazed trails Westward as the United States expanded. None of his sermons have survived as far as I can tell. The sermon texts herein are of my own invention. I am grateful of my heritage and I am proud of my affiliation with The United Methodist Church which has lasted longer than my 65 years.

I have provided some facts from several books written about the old west. One of which was written by Colonel Jack Myers Potter, Andrew Potter’s son, titled, "Lead Steer". Colonel Potter also wrote "Cattle Trails of the Old West". As a child, I remember Col Jack as a large but gentle man. I was born in Clayton, New Mexico where he lived. He was a writer, a New Mexico statesman and a true friend to man. J Frank Dobie, who is recognized as a master storyteller of the Southwest wrote "Cow People" and numerous other books about life in Texas. Other historical facts were found in Wikipedia Encyclopedia and Texas Handbook Online.

How Great God Is

Ed Whorton

I was watching the herd late one night.

The moon was shinnin’ clear and bright.

I said to myself, "How great God is

That I am alive to see all this"

God made the heavens for all to see.

He made them especially for you and me.

The stars and planets were cleverly placed;

The Galaxies and constellations carefully spaced.

The sun rises low in a sky so blue, and

The grass is green and covered with dew.

I trust in God and you should too.

It shor’ is clear there aint a thing God can’t do.

All day long God shows his Hand

Blessin’ all; in the sea, air, and on land.

He gave us His only Son that we might win;

Escaping the judgment for our sin.

Jesus is God’s Holy Son and

Everyone who believes is gathered as one.

Of this I know and of this I am sure

God’s great blessings will endure.

His spirit was in you from your first breath.

He will guide you and protect you ’till your death.

The holy city, Jerusalem, will be your new home.

From God’s grace you can never roam.

God is still callin’, Ye, Sinners Come Home

Prolog

In 1895, while preaching at Tilman Chapel in Caldwell County, The Fighting Parson, Paul Bunch, delivered his last sermon. He preached boldly as usual in his typically loud voice. He grew suddenly quiet before he said,

I think I just preached my last sermon.

With those words, he fell forward and breathed his last breath. He was laid to rest at nearby Walnut Creek Cemetery near present day Lockhart, Texas. This book is dedicated to the memory of all the itinerant preachers who served God while traveling across Texas and the United States.

Early American History

1607—America Begins

The history of the United States began at Jamestown, Yorktown and Williamsburg Virginia. Jamestown was settled in 1607 by the British and was the first permanent British settlement in North America. It was founded on May 14, 1607, and was located on a peninsula (later named Jamestown Island) in the James River in Virginia. Its name was chosen in honor of King James I of England. The colony initiated the cultivation of tobacco, established the first representative government on the continent (1619), brought the first African slaves to the colonies, and built the first Anglican Church in America.

Situated in an unhealthful marshy area, the colony always had a small population because of a high death rate from disease. In 1608 Jamestown was accidentally burned, and two years later it was about to be abandoned by its inhabitants when Thomas West, 12th Baron De La Warr arrived with new energy and new supplies. Other fires occurred in 1676 during Bacon’s Rebellion and in 1698. It fell into decay when the Virginia seat of government was moved from Jamestown to the Middle Plantation (now known as Williamsburg) in 1699.

Yorktown is situated on the south bank of the York River across from Gloucester Point, just east-southeast of Williamsburg. The area around Yorktown was settled in 1630, but the town itself developed after 1691 when a port was authorized by Virginia’s General Assembly. Yorktown became a busy shipping center, and it’s Colonial Custom House (restored in 1706) is regarded as the cradle of the American tariff system. By 1750, however, its commercial role had declined together with the Tidewater Virginia tobacco trade. Yorktown’s place in history was assured by the siege and surrender there of British forces under General Lord Cornwallis in 1781, an event that virtually assured an American victory in the American Revolution. On Sept. 28, 1781, joint Franco-American land and sea campaigns entrapped a major British army on a peninsula at Yorktown, Va., and forced its surrender. The siege virtually ended military operations in the U.S. War for Independence.

After a series of reverses and the depletion of his forces’ strength, the British commander in the southern colonies, General Lord Cornwallis, moved his army from Wilmington, Delaware, eastward to Petersburg, Va., on the Atlantic coast, in May 1781. Cornwallis had about 7,500 men and was confronted in the region by only about 4,500 American troops under the Marquis de Lafayette, General Anthony Wayne, and Baron von Steuben. In order to maintain his seaborne lines of communication with the main British army of General Henry Clinton in New York City, Cornwallis then retreated through Virginia, first to Richmond, next to Williamsburg, and finally, near the end of July, to Yorktown and the adjacent promontory of Gloucester, both of which he proceeded to fortify.

The American commander in chief, General George Washington, ordered Lafayette to block Cornwallis’ possible escape from Yorktown by land. In the meantime Washington’s 2,500 Continental troops in New York were joined by 4,000 French troops under the Count de Rochambeau. This combined allied force left a screen of troops facing Clinton’s forces in New York while the main Franco-American force, beginning on August 21, undertook a rapid march southward to the head of Chesapeake Bay, where it linked up with a French fleet of twenty-four ships under the Count de Grasse. This fleet had arrived from the West Indies and was maintaining a sea blockade of Cornwallis’ army.

Cornwallis’ army waited in vain for rescue or reinforcements from the British navy while de Grasse’s fleet transported Washington’s troops southward to Williamsburg, Va., whence they joined Lafayette’s forces in the siege of Yorktown. Washington was thus vindicated in his hopes of entrapping Cornwallis on the Yorktown Peninsula.

Meanwhile, a smaller British fleet under Admiral Thomas Graves was unable to counter French naval superiority at the Battle of Virginia Capes was forced to return to New York. A British rescue fleet, two-thirds the size of the French, set out for Virginia on October 17 with some 7,000 British troops, but it was too late. Throughout early October Washington’s 14,000 Franco-American troops steadily overcame the British army’s fortified positions at Yorktown. Surrounded, out gunned and running low on food, Cornwallis surrendered his entire army on October 19. The total British prisoners captured were about 8,000, along with about 240 guns. Casualties on both sides were relatively light. The victory at Yorktown ended fighting in the War of Independence and virtually assured success to the American cause.

Williamsburg subsequently became the political, social, and cultural center of the colony. It was home to Virginia’s first theater (1716), first successful printing press (1730), first newspaper (1736), and first paper mill (1744). In the Capitol, Patrick Henry presented his historic speech against the Stamp Act (1765), and on May 15, 1776, the Virginia Convention passed resolutions urging the Continental Congress to declare American independence from Britain. Williamsburg declined in importance after the state government was moved to Richmond in 1780.

The United States had only been a nation since 1776 but in just twenty-four years it had already grown to twenty-nine States. People were coming to America for religious freedom and to stake a claim to the opportunities of a new world in America. In the late 18th century, the United States saw an influx of new arrivals from Europe. The lure of a new and free nation was appealing to many. Land became the source of most wealth. It was also the source of most trouble. Planters, merchants, and lawyers began to speculate in land. Many a family lost everything. Texas, a possession of Spain, had a vast amount of land that was largely unsettled. A large part of America came with the purchase of the Louisiana territory and through the Mexican war in Texas, New Mexico and California.

1801—Early Texas Settlements

The name Texas comes from a Caddo Indian word meaning friends or allies. The Spanish explorers pronounced the word tejas and gave this name to the area. Texas had been partially settled by Spanish citizens. This led to an influx of new citizens from the