Callahill Minnice Walden

My Great Great Grandfather, Henry Clay McGaughy, married Minnie Walden on January 15, 1880. Her parents were C.M. Walden and Henrietta V. Purcell. C.M., as far as I can tell, stood for Callahill (or Calliehill, or any number of other spellings) Minnice. It is no wonder that he went by his initials for most of his life.

According to BB Paddock's History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas, page 441, "[C.M.] was a mechanic, plasterer and bricklayer and followed those pursuits in the Old Dominion in his younger days. He served throughout the war of the rebellion with the Confederate army in Virginia and in 1876 he came to Texas, locating first in Grayson county, where he rented land and engaged in farming, but in 1878 he removed to Montague county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits. He also gave some attention to the stock business in the Indian Territory. His wife died September 13, 1904, and he has since broken up housekeeping and make his home with Mrs. McGaughy. He followed his trade until he came to the west and has lived the life of a plain honest mechanic and farmer. Although he rendered active service to the Confederacy during the Civil war he was never wounded nor taken prisoner. He is a man of genuine personal worth, faithful to honorable principles and is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife was a member of the Methodist church. They had three children: Lillie, who became the wife of J. Damron and both she and her husband are now deceased; Minnie, now Mrs. McGaughy; and R. E., who follows farming in the territory."

The earliest record I have found of him is in the 1850 census in Pittsylvania County, VA as part of the household of Richard T. Walden. I believe that it is a reasonable assumption that Richard T. Walden was his father. His occupation is listed as a bricklayer, which agrees with BB Paddock's Biography. About a month later, he also appears in the household of C.J. Simmons, this time listed as C.M. Walden, and still a bricklayer.

1850 Census with Richard T. Walden

1850 Census with C.J. Simmons

 He does not show up in the 1860 census at all, probably on account of the Civil War. He fought in Company D, 1st Virginia Cavalry during the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy. He began as a Private but advanced to Corporal during his time in the War. According to the following document, it looks like his horse was killed during the war:

He later pops up in the 1870 census as Callohill Walden in the Calumet Township, Pike County, Missouri. In his household is his wife, Henrietta, and 3 children: daughter Lillie, daughter Marrie, and son Edward.

In the 1880 census, he shows up as Calahill Walden in Montague County, TX. This time, he only has his wife, Henrietta, and son, Richard E. I believe that Richard E. and Edward are the same child, so it is my belief that his full name was Richard Edward Walden.



In the 1900 census, he has a few more people in his household. Besides his wife and son, he now has a daughter-in-law Mary, and a slew of grandchildren living with him.



The last census he shows up in is the Census for 1910, which shows him living with his daughter, Minnie, which agrees with the BB Paddock biography.


His death certificate is not of much help as it was filled out by Homer Foster, a man who was allowed to live with Henry Clay and Minnie on the farm until his death. Homer Foster, of course, had no idea who C.M.'s parents were. He apparently knew his birthday, however, and listed it as January 7, 1830. Calahill died on February 9, 1917.


I have not been able to locate his grave. His wife, Henrietta, is buried in the Old Spanish Fort Cemetery in Texas.

Later on, I will write more about C.M.'s ancestry. His grandfather, Charles Walden, fought in the American Revolution.

Last of Tom's Notes

12-15-12

Hi Bob

Talked to Bob Mc last night he was reminiscing about Jud and how much he enjoyed visiting Jud - and Jud enjoyed having us visit him. We went down about every other weekend. Jud had 1/2 lb hamburgers out on the grill - fixed salads, Jud always wanted 1/2 water cress from the spring. One quail season we decided to have grilled quail for supper. We 3 went hunting - saw a covey NW of the big oak about 75 yards NW of the picknic table area. I pot shotted the covey - killed 9. Jud started giving me a hard time for not making them fly - I said "there is supper, now we can have fun shooting them in the air." It happened that we only killed 1 or 2 more, but we had a good meal anyway.

Jud enjoyed life more than anyone. Bob Mc and I can recall knowing: When old, he could sit on the porch and shoot at wasps and have a good time. Dad, Henry, and Jud went quail hunting across the river - see map - a 2 foot rattler hit Juds pants leg, fang got hung. Dad and Henry got him stopped after a 100 yard run - shooting behind himself and yelling. Jud always hated snakes - saw him blast a 6 foot bull snake with both barrels of his knickerbocker double barrel shotgun. He and Tince were always getting in matches over quail - shooting the others bird. Tince was a better shot one day laughing at Jud and a quail got up about 5 feet away from Jud and he shot quick, blew him apart - laughed and said "There is one you won't get to shoot" I was there, but Tince still enjoys telling me about it. Jud and I saw a bunch of geese land in the back of Joe Brown's - I took auto .22 and Jud his 30-30. He killed 2 geese and one pintail drake at one shot. He got a good laugh at me then.

This is very interesting - nickle iron. I told Floyd and he said it had to be very old meteor. Tried to break off a chunk with other rocks, no way. It would be many tons - at $200 per ounce. [Peoth] Demmos ranch - he died about 1995. Bridwells grandson, Frank Woods, came to see me in 2001, we went over to look at some wells - met the foreman of the ranch. Many turkeys and 2 bucks there by Baker Creek. You might tell Walt Brown that he could call the turkeys across the river in season - from NE corner of Joe Brown place - doe scent might bring the bucks across. He has the only pig nut tree - big pecan looking tree bent over pointing NE. Slippery Elm and White oaks around the ridge near your fence. Bet he did [not know]

About 1930 Dad saw big geese landing on the Walden place. The next evening he, Jud, and Claude Walden were waiting, the geese came over, Dad killed 2, Claude 1 and Jud knocked one down. Dark by then - he looked and saw a white something move - thought it was his crippled goose and ran to catch it. It was a skunk with broad white stripes and a full bag of scent that he sprayed on Jud. Jud had to ride on the fender home. Went back first thing in the morning and found the goose.

You can see these giants - up to 22 lbs when very cold weather runs them out of Kansas where they live year round. I crippled 2 when Tince talked me out of being in their landing spot. They got up the river bank the next day into thick brush. River was deep and swift - ice - could not go across.

Map drawn by Tom McGaughy referenced in Letter above

Gill Family

From the notes of Tom McGaughy, written in 1998

Delia said:

The first time they came to Oklahoma, came in covered wagon, with "big old oxen". They lived 1/4 mile west of the bridge on Cache creek, east of Cache, OK. We went up, the house is still standing, more built on, and in use. Quannah Parker lived 1/2 mile North. Ike and some more kids made the Indians mad peeking at the Indian women who bathed nude in Cache Creek. They went broke - went back to Kentucky - Bardwell, and J.T. made good money farming there. Came back to Oklahoma on a train - wagons, "real good work horses" and a boxcar of furniture. Lived at Wilson - had a two story hotel in NW part of town, foundation still there about 10 years ago.  Bootlegged, ran gambling room and probably 2 whores. Lived in Ragtown in tent - oil boom days, bootlegging and other shady stuff, according to Delia. Want to put this in family history?

He taught Dick and Ike to drink at Wilson, thought it was funny. Owned several good properties over the years, always sold at a loss so he could move to "a better place".

Tom said:

Had a very bad temper, always quick to fight, as when he broke his cane over [Nerdox's] head when he, J.T., and [Nerdox] were in their late 80's - this over a checker game. Tried to fight me at age 90, because I told him he was [running] Jud crazy having to move him every six months.

Quit work at 65 because he said that he was too old to work any more. Enjoyed excellent health up to age 90. Real nice guy?

Tom

Payton was a first name in Gill family - traced back to Payton Brown of the Mayflower - Wylie Cook's kid's tracing.

Henry Clay McGaughy

This is also from the notes of Tom McGaughy. It reads a lot like the BB Paddock biography, but differs in a few places.

Henry Clay McGaughy, a pioneer settler of Montague county, was born in Lee county, Mississippi, on the 11th of June, 1848. His parents were William L. and Mary (Harris) McGaughy, both of whom were natives of Tennessee, where they were married. Soon after their marriage they moved to Mississippi. The paternal grandfather was G. W. McGaughy, of Georgia, who later moved to Mississippi. In his family were the following: William L., Carrol, Lee, and Benton, who came to Texas; Jack who lived in the Indian Territory;l and Sally, the wife of John Nicholson.

William L. McGaughy, father of Henry Clay McGaughy, purchased land and engaged in farming in Mississippi where he became a prominent planter and slave owner of his locality. For many years he successfully conducted his business interest there and he remained upon the old homestead during the period of the Civil War and until after the re-construction. He was too old for active service in the army but he furnished eight sons to the Confederacy. His farm lay in the path of the contending armies, who faraged on his land and largely reduced the value of his estate. His slaves were freed, his property devastated, and in 1869 Mr. McGaughy turned over the plantation to two of his sons and with the remainder of his family came to Texas, settling first in Grayson County, where he remained for a year. He then moved to Dallas county, where he spent two years, and in 1872 he came to Montague county, located in the Red River Valley. He made a prospecting tour in the spring of that same year and had purchased five hundred acres of valley land, where he took up his residence, giving his attention to its development and improvement. His remaining days were devoted to agricultural interests here and he remained upon the homestead farm until his death February 3, 1876, when he was seventy two years of age. He was a member of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Politically he was a Whig in the ante-bellum days, but at the time of the Civil War he became a stanch Democrat, favored secession and remained loyal to the party until his death. His wife, Mary McGaughy, was a daughter of George Harris, a leading planter in Mississippi. Mrs. Mary McGaughy survived her husband and died February 25, 1876, at sixty eight years of age. Unto Mr. and Mrs. William L. McGaughy were born 10 children: Marion P., G. W. D., Nehemiah R., James F., W. H., John, Benjamin, Henry Clay, Sally, who became the wife of J.M. Buchanan, and Mary J., who became the wife of Mr. Walton, who died in the army. Later she married Mr. Van Arsdale.

William L. McGaughy, and his wife, Mary, are buried at the Old Spanish Fort Cemetery at Spanish Fort, Texas.

Henry Clay McGaughy was reared in Mississippi and remained upon the old home plantation until after the Civil War. Although he was very young he was connected with the state militia during the war. He came to Texas with his father and the family in 1869. He moved to Montague county in the spring of 1872 and along with a brother and brother-in-law, returned to Mississippi, but Mr. McGaughy remained and improved the farm and cared for his parents throughout their remaining days. He had selected a level tract of country, very fertile and productive joining the Red River for his farm. Farming at that time was an experiment in Texas, for previously the land had been used simply as a cattle range and it was not known whether crops could be raised profitably or not. The grass was abundant and the range was free and the settlers devoted their energies to raising cattle. The country was sparsely settled and little actual farming was done. Mr. McGaughy began to open up and cultivate his land and he also gave a part of his time to the cattle and stock business, in which he continued as long as there was free pasturage. He was succeeding well when the county and pastures were taken up and fenced, so he disposed of his herd and only kept stock for the support of the farm. He raised both cattle and hogs. Farming became no longer an experiment in Montage county but a very profitable industry. Mr. McGaughy largely gave his attention to corn and cotton. He did much to improve his farm. He erected a spacious frame residence, good barns and outbuildings with home built upon a natural elevated building site with an excellent view of the farm and surrounding country. In 1887 Mr. McGaughy also embarked in the mercantile business, taking charge of a stock of general goods at Spanish Fort, Texas, which he conducted for twelve years. Mr. McGaughy and his family moved from the farm to Spanish Fort to live during this period of time. The merchandise for the store had to be brought by wagon from Sherman, Texas. After abandoning the mercantile business Mr. McGaughy gave his entire attention to his farming interest.

In 1880 Henry Clay McGaughy and Miss Miriah Calliehill (Minnie) Walden were married. Minnie Walden was born in Virginia in 1862 the daughter of Calliehill Minnice and Henrietta (Purcell) Walden, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Her father was a mechanic, plasterer, and bricklayer in Virginia in his younger days. He served throughout the Civil War with the Confederate Army in Virginia. He came to Texas in 1876 locating first in Grayson county, but in 1878 moved to Montague county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits. He also gave some attention to the stock business in the Indian Territory. His wife died September 13, 1904 after which he broke up housekeeping and made his home with Mrs. McGaughy. He was a member of the Presbyterian Church while his wife was a member of the Methodist Church. They had three children: Lillie, who became the wife of J. Damron; Minnie, the wife of Henry C. McGaughy; and R. E.. Mr. C. M. Walden died in 1917. Both Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Walden are buried in the Old Spanish Fort Cemetery in Montague county.

Henry C. McGaughy was a member of the Presbyterian Church and gave his political allegiance to the Democratic Party. Mrs. McGaughy was a member of the Methodist church.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. Henry Clay McGaughy were born 4 children: Mary Roxie, born November 24, 1880, Spanish Fort, Texas, died May 18, 1975, Nocona, Texas, buried in the Nocona Cemetery, married Charlie R. Tucker, had no children; William Beall, born December 26, 1894, Spanish Fort, Texas, died October 16, 1966, buried in the New Spanish Fort Cemetery, Married Delia Ann Gill, had five children - Evelyn Inez, Geneva Lorraine, Dexter Eugene, William Baxter, and David Thomas; Henry Walden, born August 13, 1896, Spanish Fort, Texas, died October 26, 1968 buried in the Nocona Cemetery, married Alice Wade, had two sons - Henry Clay and James Wade; Bernice Ruth, orn February 25, 1907, Spanish Fort, Texas, died August 6, 1969, buried in the New Spanish Fort Cemetery, married Thomas Judson Gill, had two daughters - Marry Anna and Norma June.

Mr. and Mrs. McGaughy let a young man who came to Montague county, from Tennessee, Homer Foster make his home with them. He lived on the McGaughy farm until his death and he is buried in the New Spanish Fort Cemetery.

Henry Clay McGaughy died July 10, 1924, and he is buried in the Old Spanish Fort Cemetery, Spanish Fort, Texas.

Mrs. McGaughy later married Joe McMillan from Dallas, Texas, and had two step-children: Everett (Pete) and Margaret Ruth. Even after her marriage Minnie continued to make her home at the McGaughy farm until her death October 17, 1940. Minnie McGaughy McMillan is buried in the Old Spanish Fort Cemetery, Spanish Fort, Texas.

Joseph Thomas (Joe) and Emma Gill

This is from the notes of Tom McGaughy. He could not remember who wrote this.

Joseph Thomas (Joe) Gill and his family moved to Montague county in 1913 from Wilson, Oklahoma. The Gill family originally came from Bardwell, Kentucky, where J.T. Gill was born October 28, 1872. His parents were Wilks H. and Susan (Bennitt) Gill. On August 31, 1893 Joseph Thomas Gill and Miss Emma Sonsen Vaughn were married in Cairo, Illinois. Emma was the daughter of Banjamin F. and Fannie L. (Manuel) Vaughn, also of Bardwell, Kentucky. Emma was born August 5, 1873. Mr. and Mrs. Gill and three children moved from Kentucky to the Indian Territory around 1900 settling at Loco. The Gills had three sons while living in this area before returning to Bardwell, Kentucky where a daughter was born. In 1912 the family once again returned to Oklahoma. When the family moved across the Red River into Texas, their first home was near the "Rock Chimneys" in the north part of Montague county. The following year the family moved to the Noah Howard farm which joined the Red River where Mr. Gill engaged in farming. The family lived there for eight years. Later they lived on the J.H. Brown and Mattie Fortune farms in the Red River valley. Joe Gill lived and worked at various jobs in the Spanish Fort area for fifty years. There were seven children in the J.T. Gill family: Delia Ann, born November 25, 1894, Bardwell, KY., died June 27, 1981, Wichita Falls, Texas, married William Beall McGaughy, had five children - Evelyn Inez, Geneva Lorraine, Dexter Eugene, William Baxter and David Thomas, buried in the New Spanish Fort Cemetery; Isaac Paten (Ike), born 1897, Bardwell, KY., died 1946, married Noma Cardwell, had two children - Isaac Paten, Jr. and Qwanna Tennesse; Mable Rose, born October 10, 1899, Bardwell, KY., married Joe H. Brown, had four children - Billy Joe, Marjorie Ann, Paul H., and Mary Joyce; William Cleborne (Dick), born 1902, Granite, Indian Territory, died 1947, married Ruth Williams, had no children; Thomas Judson, born July 22, 1905, Loco, Indian Territory, died March 9, 1974, Houston, TX, married Bernice Ruth McGaughy, had two daughters - Merry Anna and Norma June. Jud is buried in the New Spanish Fort Cemetery; Benjamin Thurl, born 1908, Granite, Oklahoma, died 1969, Fort Worth, Texas, married Georgie Speed, had no children; Esta Lee, born 1912, Bardwell, KY, married I Wiley Cook, had four children - Emma Joan, James Wiley, George Allen, and Betty Marie; The children in the Joe Gill family attended the March, Rowland and Valley View Schools. After the March and Rowland schools consolidated to become Valley View, Joe Gill was elected to serve on the board of trustees for several years.

Mr. and Mrs. J.T. Gill continued to live in this area of Montague county for the remainder of their lives. Emma Gill died at 74 years of age on March 16, 1947. Joe Gill was 93 years old when he died June 22, 1965. Both Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thomas Gill were members of the Baptist church and they are buried in the New Spanish Fort Cemetery, Spanish Fort, TX.

More notes from Uncle Tom

The Farm

notes from Tom McGaughy

Words in brackets were hard to read and may be inaccurate.

Great Grandpa McGaughy and his brother-in-law both came to the valley in 1859 according to Beall and Roxie - went back to Mississippi for the War and returned in 1869 and bought the land. Apparently wealthy, a picture of Great Grandpa, his wife, 9 kids, and 198 slaves is apparently lost. Steamer trunk had confederate uniform, bundle of confederate money, etc. Jud put it out in the chicken house, rain headed in and ruined everything. 

Brother-in-law Bob traded his land - think it was part of the Barden (?) farm, to Great Grandpa for 80 acres back in Mississippi. Can verify in count records - I ran across it there.

Indians were bad and family lived in Whitesboro and Dallas before moving to Spanish Fort in 1872. Built General Store on East side of standing store building - foundation still there. Let people have credit and no pay - went broke.

Moved up to the farm 1873-1874. From Book - University Press - in Library in Wichita Falls - wish I had kept the name. 1873 cattle drive from south Texas by old rancher. Had 1200 head on drive to Kansas - got to Red River, it was out of bank. 20,000 head of steer being held there by river - most drives 1500-2000. This guy was afraid of more rain and took his 1200 down the draw next to The Cunninghams - across the river and up mud creek just above rock bluff. 4 head did not follow closely and were swept down the river, lost, he gave a perfect description. That night came a big storm, the 20,000 left in the valley stampeded and it took two weeks to get separated. He got top price - the panic of 1873 knocked value others in half. I wish I had the book, would like to read it again.

That is what happened to the 4 foot tall blue stem grass in the valley. Great Grandpa said that looking into the valley from the church, you could see a man but not his horse. 

Red River out of banks on the following times. No one else has record of this to my knowledge. Keep record for future.

1873 - out several weeks
1908 - very high - lots of silt - got spring house at spring and possibly a still
1935 - cut off 35 acres on back of farm and made Willow Island.
1941 - Deck and Tince swam out and got bridge timbers, I played in it age 8
1951 - out 2 times. Not bad.
1983 - Horrible - idiot civil corps general let Altus dam water stag up, ruined river
1987 - not bad. Many fish followed bank (The Bluff) up stream - large and small fish, all kinds

I think that it got out in 1993, but don't know. [you, Bob, find out and get questioned record]

Great Grandpa McGaughy led the family, [illegible - bringing his slaves or Birmingham Hou] to Spanish Fort then died in 1876 and Great Grandma also. Left Grandpa the farm at age 28. Know very little of early years. Raised a lot of hogs - killed 65 at a time, made bacon and hauled it to railhead at Sherman, 5 cents per pound.I have a hunch that under the bacon was jugs. I know of at least 2 stills operated at the spring. We dug out a lot of broken pottery in 1973. Remains of foundation of spring house is still there. Rock ledge extends out 6-7 feet from spring, drops off three feet ([cooling harvel (or hovel) was there we found it]). This filled in in 1908 at bottom of spring house. Found a crowbar, small gold latch for a box and a still working 1892 Winchester 2h action.

Aunt Roxie born in 1884 said along about 1900 they were eating noon meal and mountain lion got up on the shoulder of the fireplace and started to squal. Grandpa got his gun and went out and shot him so they could finish lunch in peace. 1902 Grandpa killed a buck and doe with one shot at the spring. 1907 killed 110 black birds with one shot. 1908 double charged it and splintered stock into 13 pieces. I put it back together, this is the old muzzle loader Bob M. has. Again when Dad (born 1894) was 9 or 10 years old, they were at noon meal and a bad storm came over - door to porch was open and ball lightning came in, drifted the length of the dining table, which was about 15 feet long, the ball hit grandma Minnie - and knocked her out when it exploded. She was out only a minute and was OK. Dad went away to college - East Texas Baptist C. but only stayed part of a year. Ran off and joined a circus. Learned how to make salt water taffy - good stuff. Main duty was taking care of bulls. They took around nine cattle with them. Stayed with them 8-9 months and went back home and started farming.

Farming was very profitable during (WW1) the war years. Dad got rid of his buggy and bought a 1917 Model T. They had to be cranked so Ike Gill (Judd's older brother) invented an acetylene starter for it - Dad said it worked real good.

Grandma and Grandpa Gill were from Kentucky - she must have been from back in the hills - spoke Elizabethan English - "Thee and Thou". They came to Oklahoma by covered wagon in 1907. Their house is located 3/8 mile NW of the bridge on Cache Creek, west of Lawton. Commanche Indians were downstream 1/2 mile. Mom saw Quanah Parker there. They went back to Kentucky about 1909, Grandpa Gill farmed there and did real well. Came back to Oklahoma by train, 1 car for HHG and 1 car for big draft horses, Farmed near Ragtown, oil boom town, quit and bought hotel at Wilson, located in NW side, foundation was still there in late 1960's.

Had a poker game in upstairs room and 2 whores. Good influence on the kids. Ike and Dick started drinking then. Mom moved to a school about 15 miles east and started teaching. GP went broke again and started the kids to working in the fields and picking cotton. That is how they ended up in the valley at home.

The start of the depression must not have been too bad for them - Dad, Henry, and Jud all bought new deer rifles - Henry and Dad .30 Remingtons, Jud the 30-30 Winchester now owned by Bob F. Dad and Jud went to Mason County to deer hunt in 1929. Don't know about Henry. Dad went back several years in a row. He and Port Howard, his best friend. Walt [Zunaseralt] borrowed Dad's .30 rifle several years and went south 3-4 days and brough back the rifle, 18 shells from a new box of 20, and deer steaks.

Walt drowned in 1941, crossing the Red River at the [footbridge] - washed out and their boat turned over. He hung in brush and came up 3 days later. Turtles ate his nose, ears, and fingers. Dick Gill came to see us soon after, fishing caught several large turtles. Had Mom make him turtle soup. No one else would eat any - finally told Dick about Walt - Dick's old friend. Dick went outside and puked up his turtle soup. I was 8 - Dick took me squirrel hunting and let me do the shooting. I killed 3 - first time I can remember shooting or hunting. All were in the Oak Tree on the ridge in the woods at the Brown's fence.

The Last Wolf Hunt

My wife and I went to Oklahoma City again last weekend, to visit a specialist concerning our unborn child. After receiving a clean bill of health for the baby, we decided to take a trip down to Wylie, TX, and visit my Great Uncle Tom, whose health is beginning to fail him.

Tom recalled a few stories about his family that he could remember. He had a few pages of notes which I copied and will eventually post to this blog, but he also had a great story about the Last Wolf Hunt which I OCR'd and cleaned up. Enjoy!

The Last Wolf Hunt

by Tom McGaughy

ln 1947 many of the farmers in the Red River Valley, north of Nocona, Texas, were being troubled by wolves catching their chickens. Chickens were generally allowed to free range and were easy for a wolf to catch, to the extent that a neighbor, Pee Wee Tucker, killed a big pup as he chased a chicken between his legs. My mother hit one with a broom in the yard.

 My uncle Henry McGaughy, along with myself and Basil Edwards, located a den with pups one April. We dug out eleven in all and put them in a cage that Uncle Henry had brought along. The pups had their eyes open and were nippy little rascals. The den was located in a plum thicket with a big green briar patch about 3 feet tall on the south and east side.

We took the pups home and upon returning Henry called several wolf hunters he knew, hound dog men, they were called and they in turn called people they knew. 

That first night 8 to 10 men came bringing with them 45 dogs. We set up camp on our picnic grounds, a clearing in the woods. The men took most of the dogs out to the den and the two wolves met them there. The dog wolf took off and led the dogs away by the Spanish Fort, five miles east, then lost them under the old school house at Illinois Bend 7-8 miles further east. This ended the first night.

The second night we had about 150 dogs and 25-30 men. This was a confused night with 45-50 dogs turned loose and short runs. There was some fighting, the wolves whipping the dogs. No good runs that night  except about 2pm when the dog wolf whipped several dogs on Ed Russell's back porch. Ed's son said "lt was the scariest racket" he ever heard.

On the third day, I fed the wolf pups, they learned to drink milk very quickly. Loads of hunters and dogs came in. One as far as Clovis, New Mexico, with his 6 dogs. He did a lot of bragging about how his dogs would "catch those coyotes quickly."No one told him what was out there. About 75-80 cars and pickup trucks were there and an estimated 450 dogs, probably 110-115 men and two 14yr old boys, Basil and me.

About 8pm they started leading 50-60 dogs towards the pups about 500 yards away. When they got out about 75 yards the dogs almost went crazy, the wolves had been there to see what was going on. They turned the dogs loose and the chase was on. The wolves went as far as the briar patch and then turned to fight. Lots of growling, and dogs yelping in pain. The wolves used the narrow paths through the briars so that only 1-2 dogs could get to them at a time. The dogs were no match for the much  larger and faster wolves. Around this same time, howling commenced from the East, South, and West. Easily counted were six wolves. The main bunch of dogs at the camp were tied up, and were excited and agitated as they looked in all three directions. Some of the hunters wanted to turn loose small groups of dogs at a time, but one hunter said, "Boys, we came to catch wolves, turn them all loose!” After about a two minute discussion on the subject, 350 dogs were running in every direction giving the wolves a hard time.

Mom and Dad had been to Nocona and a group crossed the highway in front of them, seven miles south. They picked up and brought two young dogs that were "pooped out." Their hunt lasted only 30 minutes.

The guy from Clovis did not turn his dogs loose, he said that they needed rest after the long trip.

There were dogs scattered over a ten mile radius. After that night people were bringing them in and calling Mom and Dad and giving locations of where they were holding them. None were lost in the hunt.

So far, lots of chases, no dogs badly hurt, no wolves caught.

On the fourth day, the guy from Clovis wanted to run his dogs early in the morning, so Henry, Basil, and I took him and his six dogs to the briar patch in Henry's pickup. We stood in the backend and watched. The dogs found the wolves immediately, and we could see both dogs and wolves in the network of paths through the briar, about 30 inches high. Soon there was the sound of fighting and dogs were jumping over the briars to get away from the wolves.

One dog came in and was badly cut up. Our guy from Clovis started calling his dogs off and four more came back. We walked out in the briar patch and found his prize bitch dog, cut to pieces, dead. That is when the guy finally realized what his dogs had been fighting. he said, ”I thought you were calling coyotes, "wolves", but these are Timber Wolves."

Henry was a dog lover and rode the guy pretty hard about being a fool for not listening to everyone who told him they were wolves. 

I was walking dead that day, with about 2 hours of naps, going on four days, so I went home and ate and slept for 18 hours.

Some of the hunters left that day, while others stayed and ran the wolves again that fourth night. Then early on the fifth morning, they caught the bitch wolf. She was probably worn out and hungry, with no time to hunt. They weighed her in at 92 pounds.

The dog wolf was never caught. I saw him on a number of occasions prior to the hunt, as well as the two together. He was six inches taller at the shoulders, heavier set, and I am sure he would have easily beat 125 pounds.

This was the last big wolf hunt. It is highly unlikely to happen again. There is a lack of wolves and there are very few people who have dogs that will stay with a wolf.

Regardless of what Texas Parks and Wildlife says, there are still a few wolves in the Red River valley. Also, there are a few Lobo wolves, the old buffalo wolves on the Canadian River in the Panhandle. To see them, camp out and watch under the bridge over the Canadian River by Boys Ranch, Tascosa.

This was quite an experience for a 14 year old boy, and made an impression that has lasted a lifetime. Now at 70 years old, much of it is still very clear.

I miss the thrill of the sight of wolves. From the sight of a dog wolf crossing the road in front of me to the bitch teaching her pups how to catch grasshoppers. How many 14 year olds can say that they taught wolves to catch chickens by shooting free ranging chickens at the edge of the woods, and started a killing spree?

All this because I hated chickens! A chicken a day won't keep the doctor away, but it sure will bring in the wolves.

A map that Tom drew at the end of his story.

Ellett Family Weirdness!

Originally, all I knew of this family photo was that it was my Great Great Grandparents' family. I only knew that my great grandmother Kerney was one of the children.

I have been trying to I.D. the rest of the people in this photograph. The parents were easy enough. The children have been difficult.

Initially, I thought that the last of their children, Leslie C. Ellett, was born around 1902, and I think that would date this photo sometime around 1898 or 1899 since there are only 8 children in it. The children of Charles Henry and Mattie Hammond (Sanford) Ellett are listed in the 1900 and 1910 census records:

 So, I originally thought the list went like so:

TOP L-R: Luther S Ellett b 1883, Marvin S Ellett b 1889, Stella W Ellett b 1893, Kerney Leo Ellett b 1886

Bottom L-R: Charles Henry Ellet b 1859, holding Maggie G Ellett b 1896, Henry W Ellett b 1890, Otis M Ellett b 1894, Mattie Hammond (Sanford) Ellett b 1859 holding Vera V Ellett b 1898

I was sure that Kerney was the girl in the top right. Later photos of her show that she still parts her hair in a similar fashion. The other girl doesn't appear to have a hairline that would allow for that. The girl in the top right also seems to share the pouty expression that Kerney seemed to always have later.

Kerney is on the left

Kerney is on the left

Kerney is labeled "me" on bottom right

Kerney is the older woman, rear center

The problem I have run across is that Stella is actually Stell, and a boy. I originally overlooked that Stella was listed as a son in both censuses. The weird thing is that Marvin appears to be a gender bender. In 1900, Marvin is a girl and in 1910, Marvin is a boy. I have been unable to locate any other records regarding Marvin. It just seems very odd that anyone would name their daughter Marvin! I wondered if the census guys wrote the name down wrong, but it was done by two different people and they both wrote down Marvin.

So, now I am starting to think that the list actually goes:

Top L-R: Henry, Luther, Marvin, Kerney

Bottom L-R: Maggie, Charles, Stell, Otis, Mattie, Vera

It is so weird to me... Marvin is a girl's name?

More photo restoration

I've been trying my hand at more photo restoration. I posted some of the work I did on ancestry.com's facebook page, and then someone asked if I could restore a photo for them. I'm not sure I'm the best at it, but here is a before/after shot:

It took about an hour and a half altogether. I am reasonably pleased with the result, although I couldn't help but feel there was something wrong with the eyes. So, I tried a second time:

The face is much more true to the original in this one, I think.

It's a photo restoration EXTRAVAGANZA

I've been spending some time fixing the color on some old photos and am very pleased with the results so far. Here are a few before/after examples:

More Photo Restoration

It has been quite a while since I last wrote. On September 24, I broke my back when I fell from a ladder while running some ethernet cable at work. I am doing much better now, but apparently will not be able to return to work for another 6 weeks.

I recently went through my Grandma Barrett's Plastic tub full of Family Photos and other things. Among the things I found was the following image of my Great Great Grandfather, William Sergeant Dixon, and his wife, Emma Duncan (Thomas) Dixon:

As you can see, the image is extremely faded, to the point where you can just barely even make out the faces. Fortunately, computers are pretty good at fixing things like this. I loaded this image up in the gimp (a free program similar to photoshop) and turned the brightness down and the contrast up. This resulted in the following image:

It is still pretty difficult to make out some of the features on William Sergeant Dixon's face and shirt. The rest of the image shows a marked improvement, however. I then used the bezier selection tool to select just WSD's face and shirt, so I could darken it up without darkening the rest of the image. There was still the problem of his face having uneven lighting, so I then had to select a portion of his face and lighten it up. This resulted in an ugly line going across his face, so I then used the heal tool, which comes in handy for removing lines and creases from old photos. The resulting image is this:

 

As far as I can tell, that looks much better. His face is maybe a little dark, but you can actually see it, which is much better than what I started out with. There was another photo I found of my Great Great Great Grandfather, John Turk Beecher and his wife, Maria H. Sprague. This photo was in very bad shape and I didn't have much hope for it at all:

It is on some kind of strange blue print which has faded substantially over the past 100+ years. My first attempt at restoring this image was not really what I was going for:

 

 

So, I tried again. This time, yielding different results:

 

I still wasn't satisfied with the results. So, I tried again, this time converting to grayscale:

That's about as good as this image is going to get, I'm afraid. I'm still pretty amateur at this, but I think I am getting reasonably good results from my limited image editing skills.

Photo Restoration

It has been over a week since my last writing. It has been a bit of a hectic week. Melissa and I had to go to Oklahoma City to see a Perinatologist to make sure that the baby didn't have any problems on account of Melissa's gestational diabetes. Everything came back fine, but then Melissa convinced me to check my blood sugar. It came back 276. At the Doctor's Office on Friday it was 459, so they put me on Metformin and I haven't been feeling so well. Anyway, I'll be writing more frequently for a while, hopefully.

Everyone who does some work on the family history will eventually run across some old photos that are either damaged, faded, dirty, or all of the above. Fortunately, we live in "the future" where we can sometimes restore these old photos a bit. I have an old 4 generation photo on the Barrett side that is not in very good shape. Here is my original:

Using the Gimp and a few plugins, I was able to remove the horizontal and vertical crease in the photo, as well as the spots on Edward Exum's knee and James Bennett's Suit. I was also able to slightly sharpen the image. Here is the result:

I don't think I can improve much more on this one. The photo is too old and my original is a copy of a copy of a copy of the actual photo to begin with, so this is probably the best I can do unless I can get my hands on the actual photograph itself. Problem is, the original photo may or may not still exist. Fortunately, this restoration only took about 20 minutes. I'm a complete novice when it comes to this, and plan to improve my photo restoration skills in the future. Perhaps I will write a tutorial when I have more experience.

Setting the Records Straight: Henry Clay McGaughy and Family

"The Descendants of William and Margaret McGaughy/ey" by Polly Rachel McGaughey Sutton is often considered "the source" for information on the McGaughy/McGaughey surnames. The book had the following to say about my great great grandfather, Henry Clay McGaughy:

Henry Clay McGaughy, b. 10 June 1846, d. 24 Jan. 18__, connected with the State Militia, died at Boling Green, Ky. Married Minnie Walden in 1880. Came with his father to Texas in 1869 and owned a mercantile store in Spanish Fort, Tex.
Issue:

1. Roxie Walden McGaughy, married William Beall
2. Beall McGaughy
3. Henry McGaughy
4. Bernice McGaughy

This information is pretty bad. To be fair, the author of the book admits in her forward that the book will have errors and that's just how things are, but I wanted to set the record straight on the youngest of my ancestors to appear in the book.

Click for full size image

His tombstone agrees with who he married. It even lists his children: Roxie, Beall, Henry, and Bernice. This information seems OK.

However, The McGaughy book gets it wrong on both counts as far as when he died and when he was born,. His tombstone states he was born 11 June 1848 and died 10 July 1924. I have not been able to verify where he died just yet, but I find the McGaughy book's claim of him passing on in Kentucky highly dubious.


For the rest of his biography, I will have to cross reference another book. "History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas" volume 2, by BB Paddock. Pages 439-441 state the following about HC:

HENRY C. McGAUGHY, a pioneer settler of Montague county, who is meeting with prosperity in his well conducted farming interests in the Red River valley, was born in Lee county, Mississippi, on the 11th of June, 1848. He war [was] reared to farm life with the advantages afforded by the common schools. His parents were William L. and Mary (Harris) McGaughy, both of whom were natives of Tennessee, in which state they were married. Soon afterward, however, they removed to Mississippi. The paternal grandfather was G. W. McGaughy, of Georgia, who eventually became a well known and leading planter of Mississippi, where he owned a large number of slaves and conducted extensive agricultural interests. He prospered in his undertakings, lived an honorable upright life and was a devoted and loyal member of the Presbyterian church. His residence in Mississippi continued up to the time of his demise. In his family were the following named: William L.; Carroll and Lee, who came to Texas; Jack, who is living in the Indian Territory; Benton, also of Texas; and Sally, the wife of John Nicholson.

William L. McGaughy, father of our subject, took up his abode in Mississippi soon after his marriage, there purchased land and engaged in farming, becoming a prominent planter and slave owner of his locality. For many years he successfully conducted his business interests there and he remained upon the old homestead in Mississippi during the period of the Civil war and until after the re-construction. His farm lay in the path of the contending armies, who foraged on his place and largely reduced the value of his estate. His slaves were freed, his property devastated and, desiring then to abandon farming, Mr. McGaughy in 1869 turned over the plantation to two of his sons and with the remainder of his family came to Texas, settling first in Grayson county, where he remained for a year. He then removed to Dallas county, where he spent two years, and in 1872 he came to Montague county, locating in the Red River valley, where his son, Henry C., now resides. He had made a prospecting tour in the spring of the same year and had purchased five hundred acres of valley land, whereon he finally took up his abode, giving his attention to its development and improvement. His remaining days were devoted to agricultural interests here and he remained upon the homestead farm until his life’s labors were ended by death in 1874, when he was seventy years of age. He was a consistent and worthy member of the Cumberland Presbyterian church. Politically he was a Whig in ante-bellum days, but at the time of the Civil war he became a stanch Democrat, favored secession and remained an advocate of the party throughout his remaining days. He was too old for active service in the army but he furnished eight sons to the Confederacy. In his business interests he manifested an intelligent understanding of all that he undertook, close application and untiring purpose, and his prosperity resulted from honorable and active effort. His wife survived him and died February 20, 1874, at the age of sixty-nine years. She was a daughter of George Harris, a leading planter of Mississippi, who died in that state at a ripe old age. There were three children in his family: George and Glenn, who served in the Confederate army; and Mrs. Mary McGaughy.

Unto Mr. and Mrs. William L. McGaughy were born ten children: Marion P., who was killed in the Civil war and left a wife and three children; G. W. D., who was also in the army and is now living in Collinsville, Texas; Nehemiah R., who was an army surgeon and died in the service in the Civil war; James F., who was also in the army and is now a farmer of Dallas county, Texas; W. H., who was a soldier and died at his home in Mississippi; John, who also wore the grey uniform and is now living in Mississippi; Benjamin, who espoused the cause of the Confederacy and died in the service; Henry C., of this review, who was connected with the state militia; Sally, became the wife of J. M. Buchanan and died in Mississippi, leaving four children; and Mary J., who became the wife of Mr. Walton, who died in the army, leaving two children. Later she married Mr. Van Arsdale and had three children. Mr. and Mrs. William L. McGaughy were members of the Cumberland Presbyterian church and were people of the highest respectability, enjoying the friendship and regard of all with whom they came in contact.

Henry C. McGaughy was reared in Mississippi and remained upon the old home plantation until after the war. He came to Texas with his father and the family in 1869, and accompanied his parents on their removal from Grayson to Dallas county and to his present home in Montague county in the spring of 1872. He made this selection and in company with a brother-in-law, Mr. Buchanan, bought five hundred acres of land. His brother and brother-in-law, however, returned to Mississippi, but Mr. McGaughy remained and improved the farm and cared for his parents throughout their remaining days. He yet remains upon the old homestead, where he has resided continuously for a third of a century. He made a wise selection of land, his farm being a level tract of country, very fertile and productive. Farming at that time was an experiment in Texas, for previously the land had been used simply as a cattle range and it was not known whether crops could be raised profitably or not. The grass however, was abundant and the range was free and the settlers devoted their energies to raising cattle. The country was sparsely settled but little actual farming was done. Mr. McGaughy, however, secured his claim, which he began to open up and cultivate and he also gave a part of his time to the cattle and stock business, in which he continued as long as there was free pasture. He was succeeding well when the country and pastures were taken up and fenced, so he disposed of his herd and has since kept stock only for the support of the farm. He raises both cattle and hogs. Farming is no longer an experiment here but a very profitable industry, and Mr. McGaughy is among those who have demonstrated the value of this work in Texas. He has never failed to raise good crops save on one occasion. He now largely gives his attention to corn and cotton. He is pleased with the country and its possibilities and his labors have been attended with a gratifying measure of success. He has done much to improve his farm and his land border on the Red River, so that here is a good supply of water. He has erected a commodious frame residence, good barns and out-buildings and his home stands upon a natural elevated building site, commanding an excellent view of the farm and surrounding country. It is a fine home tastefully furnished and the entire place is equipped with modern improvements and conveniences. In 1887 Mr. McGaughy also embarked in the mercantile business, taking charge of a stock of general goods at Spanish Fort, which he conducted for twelve years. He has since, however, abandoned that line of activity and give his entire attention at present to his farming interests.

In 1880 was celebrated the marriage of Mr. McGaughy to Miss Minnie Walden, who was born in Virginia in 1862 and is a daughter of C. M. and Henrietta (Purcell) Walden, both of whom were natives of Virginia. Her father was a mechanic, plasterer and bricklayer and followed those pursuits in the Old Dominion in his younger days. He served throughout the war of the rebellion with the Confederate army in Virginia and in 1876 he came to Texas, locating first in Grayson county, where he rented land and engaged in farming, but in 1878 he removed to Montague county, where he carried on general agricultural pursuits. He also gave some attention to the stock business in the Indian Territory. His wife died September 13, 1904, and he has since broken up housekeeping and make his home with Mrs. McGaughy. He followed his trade until he came to the west and has lived the life of a plain honest mechanic and farmer. Although he rendered active service to the Confederacy during the Civil war he was never wounded nor taken prisoner. He is a man of genuine personal worth, faithful to honorable principles and is a devoted member of the Presbyterian church, while his wife was a member of the Methodist church. They had three children: Lillie, who became the wife of J. Damron and both she and her husband are now deceased; Minnie, now Mrs. McGaughy; and R. E., who follows farming in the territory.

Unto our subject and his wife have been born a daughter and two sons: Mary R., at home; William B., born December 26, 1894; and Henry W., born August 13, 1896. Mrs. McGaughy is a member of the Methodist church. Mr. McGaughy gives his political allegiance to the Democratic party and is unflattering in his advocacy of its principles, but has never sought or desired public office. In public life he is progressive but without aspiration for office, preferring to concentrate his energies upon his business affairs. Those who know him, and his acquaintance is wide, esteem him for his genuine worth and throughout his residence in Montague county he has made for himself an honorable name and a record that any business man might envy.

The above biography agrees with the McGaughy book in that Henry came to Texas in 1869, and that he married Minnie Walden in 1880. It even agrees that he had a mercantile store, but by the time of Paddock's writing it seems he had abandoned that enterprise. However, Paddock's writing disagrees with the McGaughy book and instead sides with the tombstone concerning Henry Clay's birth date, not with the McGaughy book. This is probably because BB Paddock most likely actually met our subject.  I believe that Paddock's account is more likely to be true as a result.  Now it is time to take issue with Henry Clay's... Issue. Concerning his children, there are a couple census records.  By 1900, Bernice was the only child that hadn't been born. In the 1900 census, Henry C. McGaughy's family shows up with children Roxie, age 19, Beall, age 5, and Henry W., age 3.

Click Image for full size census form

By 1910, Roxie had moved out and Bernice was 5 years old. Henry W. shows up again, aged 13. Beall shows up again, this time rather illegibly. It looks like W (scribble) B., but he is aged 15 in 1910 which would make him the right age to be Beall from the 1900 census.

Click Image for full size census form

These 2 census forms somewhat agree with the McGaughy book. There really isn't enough information at this point to form much of a disagreement. Additional sources are needed to decide one way or the other, but it appears from the information in the 1910 census that Beall was the middle name of Henry Clay's 2nd child, not the first..

I have managed to find death certificates for all four children of H.C. Beginning with Roxie's:

Click for full size death certificate

This certificate shows a Mary Roxie Tucker, b. 24 November 1880, d. 18 May 1975. Her parents were Henry Clay McGaughy and Minnie Walden, which proves the McGaughy book wrong on her name. It was not Roxie Walden McGaughy, but Mary Roxie. Since her married name appears as Tucker, she should show up as Mary or Roxie Tucker in the U.S. Census somewhere. She does, as Roxie M. Tucker married to Charles R. Tucker in 1920:

Click image for full size census form

The McGaughy book is wrong again. She did not marry William Beall (wouldn't that would be weird?!), she married Charles R Tucker. They appear to have no issue by 1920, and are 39 and 43, respectively. It is likely they had no children. The next child of our subject to consider is my great grandfather, William Beall McGaughy. Below is his death certificate:

Click image for full size Death Certificate

His parents are listed as H.C. McGaughy and Minnie Walden. His full name is William Beall McGaughy. He was born 26 December 1894 and died on 16 October 1966. Beall was just what everyone seems to have called him. I have several photos of him and his wife labeled as Beall and Delia, so I am assuming he went by Beall. I have plenty of vital records of his marriage and children, but I intend to write more on him later. Be assured that he married Delia Ann Gill in 1916 and had five children: Evelyn (Svajda), Lorraine "Rushie" (Andersen), Dexter Eugene (my grandfather), William Baxter "Tince", and David Thomas.

 Back to Henry Clay's issue, though. Next in line is Henry Walden's death certificate:

Click image for full size death certificate

This lists his father as Henry Clay McGaughy and his mother as Minnie Walden. It also lists his full name as Henry Walden McGaughy. He was born 13 August 1896 and died 26 October 1968. Looks like the McGaughy book put the middle name Walden on the wrong person. He shows up in the 1940 census with a wife, Alice (I believe to be Alice Wade, but have no proof at the time of this writing), and two children, Henry Clay McGaughy and James Wade McGaughy. They are at the end of a page on the census and had to be continued on the next. Here are the two pages:

Click for full size census form part 2

Click for full size census form part 1

The last child of Henry Clay to get straightened out is Bernice. I have her death certificate:

Click for full size death certificate

Her parents are listed as Henry Clay and Minnie Walden. Her full name is listed as Bernice Ruth Gill. This is of particular interest because it means that William Beall's children and her children are double cousins. She shows up in the 1930 Census as being married to a Thomas J. Gill, and again in 1940 as being married to a Judd Gill. I believe her husband's name was Thomas Judson Gill, based on their gravestone and these census forms. In the 1940 census, they have a child, either Jane or June N. Gill. It also appears that they took care of Minnie Walden in her old age.

Click image for full size census form.

Click for full size image

Click Image for full size census form

Now that we have solved the issue of Henry Clay's biography and issue, we can lay the problems with the McGaughy book to rest. I am sure I will revisit this family at a later date, but can definitely conclude that the McGaughy book had plenty of erroneous information regarding the family of my Great Great Grandfather, Henry Clay McGaughy.




I only have one photo of him from a book I found. This is it:

Photo taken from page 11 of "Images of America: Nocona" by Shannon Gillette

Edit: Ran across another photo of Henry Clay:

Photo taken from page 122 of "Images of America: Bowie and Montague County" by Shannon Castle Gillette