Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2026 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ =========================================================================== USGenNet Data Repository Notice: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. ============================================================================= Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. ============================================================================= Texas Coastal Pioneers of Chambers County As Compliled in 1952 by Varuna Hartmann Lawrence Royal Pub. Co., Dallas, TX The Gulf Coast Pioneers of Texas Authentic Reports Gathered from Many Reliable Sources. (Many things cannot be verified as the old Record Book burned in the fire that destroyed the old Court House at Wallisville, then County seat of Chambers county 1875 or '76) Have talked with many of those who had lived in these bygone days, and in whose word there was no question, concerning the things given here. Varua Hartmann (Mrs. A. B.) Lawrence ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 66] McCANN: An elderly mother with two large beautiful daughters - one named INEZ, the other ERETTA. There was evidence of very easy financial conditions, very much admired by all, after some years they left the home they had bought, and Cedar Bayou knew them no more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 67] McCARTY: McCARTY married a widow, a MRS. HENRY, who had two children, WILL and SALLY HENRY. Mr. and Mrs. McCARTY had three children, JOE, LILLIE and LOU. JOE died unmarried. WILL HENRY married VIOLA (BABE) GATES SALLY married a widower BEN BARROW, with two nearly grown children; SALLY had three BARROW children; HENTY and BETTY died when about one-half grown. BEN called (SALLY’S BEN) is still living and has a family near Crosby. McCRARY: An old resident of those days was ‘McCrary" an elderly man of seemingly polished manners. A widower who had left his two daughters in a distant city with their grand-parents. After they were grown girls they came to live with him. KATE married JIM HADEN. ANNA married a man in Galveston, name unknown. McGAR: Mr. and Mrs. W. M. McGAR with a young family lived on the banks of Cedar Bayou, they were cultured people, and easily made friends with those already here. The oldest son WILL was a grown young man, but the daughter next in age was a cripple named MARY, smiling, kind, gracious, but barely able to walk. Then ESTELLE, and another son EDDIE, and a baby boy named WALTER (I think). They moved away, and all stopped by our house for dinner, as they passed through Barbers Hill. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 68] Mrs. McGAR and my mother were very good friends. When mother could not get any dress material for her wedding: during the war between the States, Mrs. McGAR opened a chest of clothes she had not used since coming to Texas and they found a lovely cream silk mull that remodeled made a beautiful bridal dress. Mother had a new pair of Satin house-slippers, and she rode the thirty miles to Liberty to a cobbler shop, and he put high heels on the slippers, so they became nice wedding shoes for this 1863 bride. The bridegroom had come home for a short furlough, so there was need for haste. McLEAN: The McLEANS were an old family in Cedar Bayou. GRANDMA McLEAN, a tall neat woman with gray hair, and a devout Christian, had four sons: WILSON, BILLY, EPHRAIM and HARRISON. WILSON married EMMA ? EPHRAIM married INEZ FAYLE. BILLY married MELLISSA WEEDEN. HARRISON married EDITH PEASE. The McLEANS had: two daughters, ANNIE, who married HAZARD WILLIAMS after she was left a widow with one son, named for his father MADISON GEORGE. ANNIE and HAZARD had eight children, namely, IDA, LOULA, LIZZIE, MINNIE, SARAH, then CHARLEY and LILLEY (twins), then CLARENCE. SARAH was lost in the Galveston storm. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 69] LIZZIE (WILBURN) is the only one now living of that family. She has a large family of her own and lives in comfort in Baytown. The McLEAN’S other daughter was SARAH, who married REUBEN EPPERSON and had about seven children; WILSON, GEORGE, LANETTA, RACHEL, and two younger girls, CORA and SADIE, and a young son, HARRISON. McNEICE: There was a family of this name lived on Old River, consisting of Father McNEICE and wife, a son JOHN and two daughters, APSLEY and JEANNETTE. APSLEY had been a widow and later on married ALBERT LAWRENCE. JEANNETTE married URIAH HARTMAN. Old man McNEICE died, and his widow and son moved away. Mrs. McNEICE rode out to my mother’s home, and the son went away on a business trip, and stayed a week while his mother visited at our house. She taught me some old-time songs, while she was there. She was a small, short, stooped figure. Her son, a tall rawboned dark man. APSLEY was a plain oldish woman, but JEANNETTE was a beautiful girl, large dark eyes, curly black hair, regular features, complexion like a Magnolia flower. URIAH and JEANNETTE had two children, U. E. and REBECCA, who are living in Ballinger and Brownwood, Texas. JEANNETTE died while the children were small and URIAH married again, had four or five more children before he passed away. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 70] MAGEE: An aristocratic old family of the above name came to Texas in the early days of its settlement. The family consisted of Father, Mother and three Daughters and two sons, namely: ELLEN (My Mother’s especial friend) and her two younger sisters. The second daughters name I do not know, the youngest was named WINNIE. One son was named JAKE, the other WES. WES married ANNA BAKER WINNIE married MR. YARRINGTON, a school teacher. ELLEN was a fine looking girl who attracted the notice of a COL. McPHERSON who was determined to marry her. She did not like COL. McPHERSON at all, but he was well off, a Col. in the Army (South- ern) and Mr. MAGEE highly approved of his courtship. When the Col. asked for permission to marry ELLEN, gave his consent and told ELLEN to accept this man. In those days a girl did not have little (if any) say about it. Meantime ELLEN had met a young Cavalry man that she did like. But the Col. came and came again, and finally ELLEN said Yes. The Col. gave her a diamond ring, and when he went to take leave of her he kissed her! That was too bad, she snatched off his ring and threw it as far as she could. It landed in a briar patch. The Col. left and her parents were determined she should marry him when he returned, and used their authority to bring it about. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 71] A few months later the Col. was again in their part of the State, so the wedding plan was all ready and a big ball, supper, with a large crowd of invited guests. ADALEASA MARTHA FITZGERALD was the bridesmaid, and once while ELLEN and ADALEASA were alone looking in the ball room at the dancers the Col. passed by in the dance. ELLEN clutched ADALEASA’S hand and said in a low voice, ‘My God ADA! why did I ever marry that beast! I hate him. Later on when ADALEASA was dancing with the Col. he looked across the room at ELLEN and said "Is she, my bride, not lovely". His voice filled with admiration and pride. Time went by and, ELLEN gave birth to a red haired: blackeye little daughter. It was not long until Col. McPHERSON was found dead, a bullet in his head. No one knew who killed him nor how he met his death. The time was full of unexpected deaths and such law as they had, was not always enforced. ELLEN soon married the young Cavalry soldier named "BILL" WEAVER. Her little girl was always called by her step-father’s name, and every one knew her as BELL WEAVER. They had other children of their own. After some time the younger sister married a man named KING, and had several children who grew up in Cedar Bayou also, for all this happened in that Community strung along the Bayou from mouth to its head. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 72] MILAM: COLLINS MILAM’S wife died and he moved to Cedar Bayou, and with his brother BOB of Galveston, and an old friend of his home town founded the mercantile firm of Rosamond Milam & Brothers, that flourished in Cedar Bayou for many years. COLLINS, a widower with three children, married again to MARY BRIDGES. They had seven children, namely: BARNEY, SUSIE, ROB, BETTY, WILL, Rose [and] JIMMNY All grew up and married except ROSAMOND. She was named for the third partner in the Rosamond Milam & Brothers firm. COLINS’ brother, BOB, and his family lived in Galveston where he took care of the supplies and shipments needed at the Cedar Bayou Store. Their brick kilns cee hinwed many men. They bought and used a large 8-masted boat to conduct their business. The boat was named the P. J. Willis, the firm’s name in Galveston that they bought it from. There were many smaller boats plying between Cedar Bayou and Galveston but none so large as the "Willis". It was said that Galveston was built of the bricks made in the kilns of Cedar Bayou. Later on the Milam firm built a tug, the "S. G. Rosamond" named for the third (and influential) member of the firm. MILLS: There were two young men of that name in the Old River Community. WILLIE the elder lived at ROBERT LAWRENCE’S home on Lawrence’s Island. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 73] ALFRED MILLS worked each year for people as a general farm hand. He never married. WILLIE married LAURA ANDERSON who with her brother lived in the home of ROBERT LAWRENCE, whose wife was an invalid. JIMMIE ANDERSON was a well liked young man, was a great favorite of ROBERT LAWRENCE’S young son CHARLES. It would have been a lonely life indeed for CHARLES, an only child, away back on the Island, where there were no neighbors, and JIMMIE was his companion and friend. They were together when JIMMIE rode his horse in the swollen waters of Cedar Bayou and was drowned before his eyes. COL. MILLS: There was in the edge of the Cedar Bayou wood about two miles below Barbers Hill, an old mansion or large two story house that had belonged to COLONEL MILLS, who had left that part of the State when the war (1860-65) was ended. This old house stood vacant for many years. I remember being there and seeing many of the people assembled there for a picnic and horse racing. There was a long table out in front of the house and lots of food on it. There I saw for the first time the LAWRENCE family and made friends with JULIA LAWRENCE, who was ever-after my friend, as well as sister-in-law. The MILLS had been gone from there some time. My Grandmother bought the geese from the MILLS when they were moving away. They were large fine geese, very old, and prized by Grandmother. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 74] MITCHELL: A fine old family, who used to attend church at Cedar Bayou. They lived on West Bay. FIELD MITCHELL married JENNY GAILLARD. The MITCHELLS lived where the Baytown Refinery is now located. DR. MORGAN: When the War between the States ended, a man with his family came to live on Cedar Bayou. He was a physician, and was needed in that area. He had three children, ANNIE, FRANK and ALBERT. ANNIE married BILL BUSCH FRANK married SARAH FITZGERALD ALBERT married JOSIE ELLENDER DOCTOR MORGAN a widower many years went back to his home and married again. A woman he had known in his early years. She was a lady of culture and refinement, but died in a few years after coming South, leaving a baby boy, who died before his second birthday after being taken back to her people in the North. DR. MORGAN was a graduate of The Rush Medical College. BAPTISTE MUECHER: BAPTISTE MUECHER, a Frenchman, came and lived alone in a little cabin across the ridge from the KILGORES. Now and then he attended the monthly church services at Barbers Hill. His ways were amusing, for instance, when he became ill, he mounted his horse, and rode the five miles to summon a doctor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [p. 75] Yes the doctor would come, so Baptiste ran his horse all the way to his home, so as to be in bed, when the doctor arrived. He had a sweetheart in his home across the sea that he got letters from occasionally. One letter caused a lot of interest in the community, for it told of her marriage to a man in her home town. BAPTISTE in despair decided to kill himself, took a knife and tried to cut his throat. Found bleeding by a neighbor from a short cut in his throat, a doctor was summoned, the cut proved not to be very serious, so he recovered, and left that part of the State soon after. ===============================================================================