xt7gms3k0q93 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7gms3k0q93/data/mets.xml Texas Texas State-wide Records Project University of Texas. Bureau of Research in the Social Sciences United States. Work Projects Administration. Division of Professional and Service Projects 1941 vii, 83 p., [2] leaves: ill., map; 28 cm. UK holds archival copy for ASERL Collaborative Federal Depository Library Program libraries and the Federal Information Preservation Network. Call number FW 4.14:T 312/2/no.198 books English San Antonio, Tex.: State-wide Records Indexing and Inventory Program This digital resource may be freely searched and displayed in accordance with U. S. copyright laws. Texas Works Progress Administration Publications Probate records -- Texas Robertson County (Tex.) -- History Index to Probate Cases of Texas, no. 198, Robertson County, April 30, 1838 - Sept. 1, 1939 text Index to Probate Cases of Texas, no. 198, Robertson County, April 30, 1838 - Sept. 1, 1939 1941 1941 2019 true xt7gms3k0q93 section xt7gms3k0q93 ”733:2 , . ‘

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 INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES
OF TEXAS
No, 198, ROBERTSON COUNTY (FRANKLIN)
Prepared by
The Texas Historical Records Survey
v Division of Community Service Programs .
Work Projects Administration
Bureau of Research in the Social Sciences
The University of Texas, Official Sponsor '
Published by
Robertson County, Texas
March 1941

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 FOREWORD

The Inventory 2: the County Archives 23 Texas is one of a number of
guides to historical materials prepared throughout the United States by
workers on the Historical Records Survey Program of the Work Projects Ad-
ministration. The publication herewith presanted, an inventory of the
archives of Robertson County, is number 198 of the Texas series.

The Historical Records Survey Program was undertaken in the winter
of 1955-56 for the purpose of providing useful employment to needy unem—
ployed historians, lawyers, teachers, and research and clerical workers,
In carrying out this objective, the project was organized to compile in—
ventories of historical materials, particularly the unpublished govern—
ment documents and records which are basic in the administration of local
‘government, and which provide invaluable data for students of political,
economic and social history. The archival guide herewith presented is
intended to meet the requirements of day-to—day administration by the of-
ficials of the county, and also the needs of lawyers, busineSSmen and
other citizens who require facts from the public records for the proper
conduct of their affairs, The volume is so designed that it can be used
by the historian in his research in the unprinted sources in the same way
he uses the library card catalog for printed sources.

. The inventories produced by the Historical Records Survey Program
attempt to do more than give merely a list of records - they attempt fur-
ther to sketch in the historical background of the county or other unit
of government, and to describe precisely and in detail the organization
and functions of the government agencies whose records they list, The
county, town, and other local inventories for the entire country will,
when completed, constitute an encyclopedia of local government as well
as a bibliography of local archives,

The successful conclusion of the work of the Historical Records
Survey Program, even in a single county, would not be possible Without

~ the support of public officials, historical and legal specialists, and
many other groups in the community, Their cooperation is gratefully
acknowledged.

The Survey Program was organized by Luther H. Evans, who served as
Director until March 1, 1940, when he was succeeded by Sargent B. Child,
who had been National Field Supervisor since the inauguration of the
Survey. The Survey Program operates as a Nation—wide series of locally
sponsored projects in the Division of Community Service Programs of which
Mrs. Florence Kerr, Assistant Commissioner, is in charge.

Howard 0. Hunter
Commissioner

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 PREFACE

The Texas Historical Records Survey is a unit of the Texas State-wide
Records Project which is sponsored by the Bureau of Research in the Social
Sciences of The University of Texas, and operates under the Research and '
Records Section of the Division of Community Service Programs of the Work
Projects Administration, ‘

The objective of the Survey in Texas is the preparation of complete
inventories of the archives of each county, municipality, and other local
governmental unit,

This publication, an inventory of the archives of Robertson County,
includes, in addition to descriptive entries for each extant records
series, a historical sketch of the county and a map of its past and pres-

, ent boundaries; an essay on the present governmental organization and
* records system, accompanied by a structural chart; a discussion of the
conditions under which the records are preserved, accompanied by floor
plans of the courthouSG; a section devoted to abbreviations and symbols;
and a brief statement of the legal status of each office and agency,
prefatory to the listing of its records,

The Survey is now engaged in preparing a comprehensive statement of
the general law regulating county government, to be entitled County
ggyernment in Texas, It is expected that this book will serve as a hand-
book on the organization, structure, and evolution of county government

. and records in Texas, and will make it unnecessary to repeat in each in—
ventory information applicable to all counties in the State, The office
essays in this inventory are, therefore, limited to the creation of the
office and its present status, the manner in which it is filled, the term,
and Special legislation affecting Robertson County, Pending issuance of
the volume on County government in Texas, it is suggested that the reader
consult the inventory of the County—Archives of Texas, R2, 2%, Guadalupe
County, for more detailed essays than those found in the present inventory,

The Invantory 9: the County Arghives of Texas will, when completed,

‘ consist of a separate volume for each county of the State, Each unit of
the series is numbered according to the particular county's respective
position in the alphabetical list of the 254 counties. Thus, the volume
for Robertson County, herewith presented, is No, 198, Units of the In—
ventory are issued in mimeographed form for free distribution to State
and local public officials, public libraries in Texas, and to a limited
number of libraries and governmental agencies outside the State, See
page 140, this inventory, for a-list of the publications of the Texas
Historical Records Survey Project,

The records of Robertson County were listed January-August 1957, and a
verification check was made in May 1940. The volume was compiled and edited
in the State office of the Texas Historical Records Survey Project,

The courteous cooperation of the Robertson County officials, for whom ‘
this work was done, is acknowledged.

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 ' TABLE OF CONTENTS
. General Page
'- EIiS—tOl‘ical SkatCh I o I I e l a o I n I. I. 'u o c I I a o I I o l
‘Topography, Historical background:, Spanish; Mexican and
Anglo—American, Creation and organization, Boundaries,
County seats and courthouses, Military history; Civil
War; World War 1, Economic developmentii Farming and
ranching; transportation, Social history: Population '
elements; early towns; churches and schools; newspapers;'
health; fire, ‘
' Map‘ofcountlf...u..I.II--Ia.¢¢'I",c'IIIno. l
G6vernmental Organization , .,. , ,., ,_,I,., , , , , , . , , 20
Chart of County Government . . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Housing, Care, and Accessibility of Records , , , , , , , , , 27
FloorPlanS........................ 30
Abbreviations, SyMbols, and Explanatory Notes . . . . . . . . 56
County Offices and TheirlRecords, , . ,
- County Commissioners.Court. . . A," n . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
General proceedings, Financial supervision: Claims; ‘ ,
‘ accounts; reports; miscellaneous, ,Welfare, Roads,
Elections,
CountyClerkasRecorder.................. 4:8
‘ Registration; General; liens and mortgages; acknowledg— .
, ments, Professional licenses, Business records, Vital
" statistics: rMarriages; births; deaths, 'Military record,
Official bonds and oaths, Fees of office, Miscellaneous,
District Court , , , , , , , _ _ , , , , , L , , j , , , , . 66
‘ 'Civil: Case papers;.dockets and fees; minutes; process,
Criminal: Case papers; dockets; minutes; fees and costs,
Juvenile delinquency, Naturalization, Jury records.
Trust funds, District clerk ex officio,
County Court 0 o o I I o I o a a I a I I I v o n I I I I I I '79
Probate: Case papers; dockets and fees; minutes; trust
funds, Lunacy, Civil: Case papers; minutes; process,
Criminal: Case papers; dockets and fees; minutes.
. Liquor and beer license hearings.
Justices of the Peace , , , , . , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
Civil and criminal: Casa papers; dockets and fees,
Inquests. Acknowledgments,

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ffifil ’ County Offices and Their Records (continued) Page
3%. County Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
fig
Sheriff........................... 91
fig Constablés“ ; . . . . . L . L ; L L . ..l . . . . ._. . . . . 95
Qfi : 7 ‘ f,,
fifi Tax Assessor—Collector . . . . . . .‘. . . . ... . . . . . . 95
EE; Assessments: Abstracts; intentories; rolls. Collections:
5%? Property tax; poll tax; vehicle licenses; occupation taxes,
§% Disposition, Delinquents, Cancelations, Redemptions,
figi Board of Equalization , ,., , , , , , , . , , ,., ; , , , , , 101
3% County Treasurer . . . . . . . . . . , . . . . .~. . . . . . lOl
gfi Accounts, Claims, Bonds,' _ .
fig ‘ County Board of School Trustees , , .‘. , ,,,,. , , , , , , , 105
fig ” County School Superintendent' ; . , ; , , ; l L , , , , , . , 104 w
3% General administration: Accounts; election papers; .
Lfif tranSpOrtatiOn; properties, Scholastics, Teachers,
E; County Health Officer , , , . , . , , , , , , , . , . , , . . 108
;{ County Surveyor . , , , . . . . . .,. . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Public‘vv'eighers‘. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .‘ . . . . 110
if Board of Land Commissioners (Defunct) . . , . . .‘. , , . . . 110
f: InSpector of Hides'and Anrnais (Defunct) . . .,. . . . . . . 112
% Coroner (Defunct) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 112
f , Bibliography U . C . . - I O C I I I O O O C I C ' O O C C O I D U I 113
f . -..‘
g ; Chronological Index ; ; ; ; L 2_; . . ;.. . . . . . .v. . .v. . . 117
If; . I. _
’2‘ SUbjSCt‘and Entzj] Index ~ I a a o o o o o a .l a o a o v 0‘ o I In a 119
' List of Survey Publications '. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
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 (First entry, p. 59)

- lg‘ HISTORICAL SKETCH

Topography

Robertson County, in central Texas, is on the edge of the East Texas
timbered region, The Navasota River forms the eastern boundary and the
Brazos the western, Falls and Limestone Counties are to the north, Leon
County is to the east, Brazos to the south, and Milam to the west. A
level to rolling terrain, With sands and sandy loams in the uplands, gives
way to deep alluvial soils in the river bottoms, The principal timbers
are elm, pecan, ash, mesquite, and several varieties of oak, Deposits of
lignite, fuller's earth, and brick Clay are largely undeveloped.

Draining the county are three rivers, the Navasota, the Brazos, and
the Little Brazos, which parallels the Brazos at distances never exceed—
ing 5 miles. These streams, flowing through deep ravines in the uplands
and issuing upon.almost prairie country, are given to sudden rises, Flood—
waters have again and again dropped rich deposits of black soil in the
valleys, until the fertility of the bottom.lands has become proverbial.
Since flood control methods have been adopted and malarial conditions
eliminated, the lowlands between the Brazos‘and Little Brazos have mate—
rially increased in value,

Except for the river valleys, the terrain is relatively high and
unbroken. This topography, combined with the heavy timber which stood
in early days just above the present southern boundary of the county, was
an important factor in the exploration and settlement of the region,- The
sandy soil provided a natural roadbed for the cumbersome vehicles of early
travel; and the timber, in addition to its inherent value to settlers as
lunmer, served as a protection against the plains Indians, Who usually
avoided deep woods,

Historical Background '
Spanish

When the Spanish explorers, missionaries, and soldiers passed through
the region between the Brazos and Navasota Rivers in 1716, on their way’
to establish the East Texas missions and presidios,l they encountered the
friendly, semi-nomadic tribes of Tonhawas and Tawakonis, .Bearing north
to avoid a network of streams after crossing the Brazos, they found a
course which led them.over high ground to the Navasota;2 Their route
1, Carlos E, Castaneda, Cur Catholic Heritage in Texas, II, and map,

2, Ibid,, p. 53, tells how Indians attached themselves to the Spanish

expedition after it crossed the Brazos, and~before it reached the t

Tejas Indian country to the east,

 9,:
3%
i , (First entry, 12. 59) Historical Sketch
ran '
ffis'q became the main path of travel, called El Camino Real (The King's High—
fig way),5 which was in use for nearly a refittry*EEE a—half,4 This portion
fig of their trail now marks the southeast boundary of Robertson County,
5&3 Mexican and énglngmerican
$531.? "
Efif Although present Robertson County was approximately midway betwoen
§§ the important settlements of San Antonio de Bexar and Nacogdoches, the
E? Spanish Government apparently made no effort to develop this region,
?3 Anglo~American colonization began soon after Mexico won her independence
3:3 in 1821, b In 1825 Robert Leftwich, agent of a Tennessee company,6 re—
s}; ceived permission to settle 800 families in Texas, The territory now
f}? included in Robertson County fell within his grant57' After some adjust—
ttf ments within the company, Sterling C. Robertson became empresario of the
ff? Texas grant.8 On his initial visit to the region in 1826, he found a
53 squatter named Early, who apparently was the first settler here, Little
[fig is knOWn of Early exCept that he stubbornly resisted efforts to remove
fig; ' him,9 various circumstances delayed colonization and created dissension
bi between all parties involved; eventually Stephen F. Austin and Robertson
[flj became involved in a controversy over OWnorship of the grant;, The Mexi—
34; can Government passed the contract back and forth between Austin and
[, Robertson to the very eve of the Texas Revolution,lo .
Li In the meantime, colonists had settled the lower reaches of the dis~
:fl’ , puted territory, particularly that portion which later became Robertson
L?‘ County, They came in groups of four or five families, and built their
Iq' ‘ houses close together for protection against Indians. Families of these
[3, "neighborhoods" regularly borrowed meat from each other, Since the set-
g tlers believed it impossible to cure beef in that section of the country,
[; they seldom tried it, but simply agreed that only one family at a time
,Tr would butcher, Everyone in the neighborhood borrowed from that family
,.
I ‘ _.________._.._.___,,_..____...__.__.-.._._
i
i 5, Charles W, Beckett (ed,), "Locations of the Early Spanish Missions
[ and Presidios in Necogdoches County," §9uthw§stern Historical guaré‘
[_ mil, XLI (1937-523), 218, - '. _
1, 4, Castaneda, Our Catholig fieritagg in Texas, II, and map. The princi—
[~ pal route of travel changed gradually to north and south, beginning
[, in the 1820's, when Stephen F, Austin's first colonists came from
'5 the coast into central Texas, lbid. .s
g‘ 5. T_h_e_ Lexis Almanac 3g 19:59—40, 5'32, hereinafter cited as 1959-40
Q Almanac, ' ”~‘_—- —~—“ - i
g 6, Eugene C, Barker, The Life of §tephen E, gustin, Founder of Texas,
g Hes—Egg, p. 331, hereinafter cited as Barker,,Life of Austin,
f» 7, Translations of Empresario Contracts, P. 22 (ms,—infiTexas General
é Land Office, Austin). , . . _ ,
; e, Barker, Lifeg: @3111, pp. 556—558, 5 :3 ~ . 5 ,
j 9, Eugene C, Barker (ed,), The Austin Reggae, vol. 1, pt. 11,.p. 1504.
; 10, Barker, Life 9; éfl§iifls PP. 571-575. v ‘
[,
|

 .. 5 _
tch . . . .
Historical Sketch (First entry, p. 39)
— until the meat was gone, whereupon a calf WaS‘killed by another family,
n and so on around the borrowing circle,ll v.
About 1829 a group of Irish immigrants settled in the wooded sec-~
tions just north of the San Antonio—Nacogdoches road (El Camino Real),
This settlement, first known as Staggers Point, and later as Benchley, was
“ the first within the present limits of Robertson c-ounty..12 In 1830 the
Mexican Government established the military post of Tenoxtitlan on the
Brazos River, just below the road, to protect the frontier and encourage
36 settlement.l5 At least 20 grants Were made to land within present Robert-
‘ son County during 1855 and 1854. 14 ' .g '
b" Homes of the early settlers were generally simple log cabins, built
16 of whatever timber was available; some had puncheon-floors, others earthen,
Oak pins took-the place of nails; mud served as mortargl5 'Sometimes the
Le cabins were built in a circle, or-a square, with outside walls as high as
12 feet and the roofs slanting inward,l6 Practically every little settle—
Dn ment had its own blockhouse.or stockade. The Wheelock and Dunn families
?n both had strong houses, and the Parkers built such a combination of stock—
L‘ ads and blockhouse that it was called Parker's Fort. fOther stockades,
built later, Were at Fort Boggy and on Cobb's Prairie.17 Although suc—
cessful Indian raids Were made on outlying cabins, no record has been
found of any blockhouse being taken save Parker's Fort; and this fall
is- when the region had been all but depopulated during the Revolution,18
‘ It is not definitely known when Robertson‘s vast colony was organized
‘8 ,as the Mexican-municipality of Viesca, but it had an ayuntamiento, or
" governing board, as early as 1830, 19 Delegates from Viesca were seated
V: at the various meetings of the colonists which preceded the Texas Revolu-
tion.. Representing Viesca at the San Felipe Convention in-1832 were Jared
E. Croce, Joshua Hadly, and William Robinson;20-and at the Consultation .
ll, Prendergast, H. D., "History of Robertson County," American Sketch.
Book, IV (1878), 524, 525, hereinafter cited as Prendergast, "His—
. tory of Robertson," fiketch Book.-‘ O . f' ~
12. "Origin of Names of Robertsonfaounty," Hearne (Tex,) Democrat, Apr.
9, 1956, hereinafter cited as "Origin of Names," .' .jfjffj--
‘ 13. Mattie Austin Hatcher, Letters of an Early American traveller, Mary
Austin Holley, p. 153.
14, Texas General Land Office, Mdp of.Robertson County, Jan, l9lg,uheree
inafter cited as Land Office Map,
15. lawrence Ward St. Clair, History of Robertson County, pp; 50, 51»
(ms, master's thesis in University of Texas Library),-hereinafter‘
cited as St. Clair, Robertson County, ‘ f
16. James T. De Shields, Cynthia Ann Parker, p, 10, hereinafter cited
as De Shields, Cynthia Ann, ' ' '
' 17, St, Clair, Robertson County, pp, 57-60, ,
' 18, De Shields, @233 Ann, pp. 12-19,
19. Gem. Laws, I, 355, —_* V. "
20. Ibid., p, 479,

 its ,
Ed: (First entry, p, 39) Historical Sketch
fig of 1835, were J, G, W, Pierson, I. L. Hood, Samuel T. Allen, A, G. Perry,
in‘ I. W. Parker, and Alexander Thompson,2l After the death of Ben'Milam,
:§§ who fell while leading the Texan attack on San Antonio late in 1835, the
fifi Provisional Government changed the name of the municipality of Viesca to
aflf Milam in his honor,22 In the Constitutional Convention at Washington on
SQ? the Brazos, March 1, 1886, Sterling C. Robertson and George C. Childress
g2? were representatives from Milam,23 p ,
i3 , In addition to other hardships connected with the revolution, the
;€i settlers saw the worst stages of the "Runaway Scrape" of 1856. The San
it? Antonio road, from the crossing on the Navasota to Robbins' Ferry on the
SE ' Trinity, was choked with women and children and all the livestock they
t}; , could drive, fleeing before the advance of Santa Anna's army.24 Many ,,
fig sections of Robertson's colony Were practically depopulated,25 During ““.
ijf and immediately after the revolution, the Indians made successful raids
jfi Ion the weakened settlements, With Anglo-American dominance established
;§§ at the Battle of San 2Tacinto,26 the soldiers, and the families who had
fl? "fled, returned to the abandoned areas. Although Indian depredations
ii; abated, it Was on May 18, 1856, shortly after San Jacinto, that the
'E5 Comanches made their historic raid on Parker's Fort, massacred most of
(3 -its inhabitants, and kidnaped Cynthia Ann Parker},7
t5»
Ft. Creation and Organization
f9 On December.14, 1857, the Second Congress of the Republic of Texas
tj created Robertson County out of Bexar, Milam, and Nacogdoches Counties,
p, The new county, named for Sterling C, Robertson, included only a part of.
{3 Robertson‘s colony, and much land that had not been included in his
5 colonial grant, The chief justice, chosen by Congress, was directed to
[3 give 10 days' public notice of an election for a county seat, The act '
{3 of creation also attached the county to the Senatorial district of Milam,
“Q and set forth that it was entitled to one Representative in Congress, ’
L4 The county was placed in the third judicial district, and a schedule of
,’ court terms was established, County court was to be held on the third
E Mondays of February, May, August, and November; district court on the
g Mondays next succeeding the fourth Mondays in April andOctoberfl8
!' No record of the first election is available, but in March 1858
LT county officials began to file their bondS, Chosen by popular election
1* 21. Gem. Laws, I, 508, ‘ I ' '
22. I_bi_d_., p. 1002. -' ,
E ‘ 25. 3333., p. 824.
f, 24. St. Clair, Robertson County, p. 63. - . i
E 25. "Texas Towns of Historic Interest That Have-Been Abandoned or Rs—
? main Small Towns Today," The Texas Almanac'fgr 1936, p. 124.
I 26. 1939-49 Almanac, pp. 66, 67. - ‘ : , .
E , 27. De Shields, grating "A113, pp. 12-15. ' -
§ 28, Gem, Laws, I, 1398, ' ,
I

 z 5 «
etch ,Historical Sketch {(Eirst,entry, P; 39)
'ry, were Alanson Hardy and-Robert Henry, justices of the peaceiga ‘Harrison
Owen, county clerk and recorder;39 John D. Smith, "high Sheriff"; and
;he William C“ Watson, district c1erk., The following officers had earlier
to been chosen by Congress; Francis Slanter, chief justice; A; W. Cooke,
on county surveyor;,Thomas Dillard, president of the board of-land commis-
:ss sioners; A. L. McCoy, clerk of the board of land commissioners and regis-
ter of the Land Office; Alanson Hardy, postmaster at Navasota,-the first
post.office in the county.51 In November 1838 John-R. Henry Was appointed
by the county court to assessche county for 1838 and 1839. 53¢ =
‘11 , 'f , ' ‘ l ‘ '_'., '
he In 1839 a frontier company of minute men was organized-to guard the
outlying settlements north of the San Antonio—Nacogdoches road, and be—
,g, ,tween the Brazos and Navasota Rivers. Capt, Eli Chandler commanded the
“*,,-organization, and its headquarters was at Franklin.35 Other_units of
s militia were organized along the frontier at approximately the same time,
d and some new blockhouses were erected, among them Fort Boggy in present
Leon County,54
The rudhnentary character of the county administrative_setup and its
intimate relation to the community in the spring of 1840 is illustrated
by the fact that County Clerk Harrison Owen was unable to issue an sloping
couple a marriage license until the cows came home, Owen could not get
into the courthouse because the key to that building Was taking.the place
of a clapper in a calf’s bell,35 6,, j ,
H Boundaries , ' _ ,,,,M
of ' » fl .
" All or part of 17 other present—day counties36 have been created
a from the vast territory over which the first officers of Robertson County
- had jurisdiction, The original boundaries were:
an,
E’ ' - - :
29.‘ 'Bond Book, vol; 1, ,pp. 4, 15, in Official Bond Record, segentry 105.
30. Probate Minutes, vol. A, p. 2, see entry 187. ' ’ ‘”
31, Bond Book, vol. 1, pp. 1—7, 37, in Official Bond Record, see entry 105.
1 32. Ibid,, pp. 20, 21. _ , , W
33. St, Clair, Robertson County, ppf“80,‘81f 9’ '”“"'” V A 1~
34. W, D, Wood, "Sketch of the Early Settlement of leon'County, It