Denton County, Texas - Chapter 1, 1918

Denton County in 1836 was a part of Red River County under the Mexican government and was represented in the Secession Convention, which met at Washington on the first day of March 1836, by Richard ElHs, ColHn McKinney, Albert H. Lattimore and Robert H, Hamilton. Richard Ellis was made president of the Convention and signed the Declaration of Independence wh'ch provided for the first Congress of the Republic of Texas which met at Washington October 3, 1836. Denton territory was represented in the Senate by Richard Ellis and the Lower House by Doctor Mansell W. Mathews, George W. Wright and Collin McKinney.

We have not been able to find the date of the creation of Red Rivei' County by the Mexican Congress and do not know whether this territory was included in its bounds or added to it for judicial and representative purposes. In the Second Congress Red River County was represented by Collin McKinney, Peyton S. Wright, and Doctor Daniel Rowlett in the Lower House, and Richard Ellis in the Senate.

In the Third Congress Red River County was represented by George W. Wright, Isaac N. Jones, and Mr. Fowler. But Eannin County had been organized and was represented in the Third Congress of Texas by the Hon. Holland Coffey, the founder of Coffey's Trading Point on Red River. Fannin County was or- ganized by act of Congress December 4, 1837, with the following metes and bounds: "Beginning at the mouth of Bois d' Arc Creek, thence up said creek to the crossing thereof at the residence of Carter Clifts, thence south to a point 30 miles in a strai:j,ht line from the place of beginning, thence westerly and northwesterly to Red River, so as to cover all the territory in these bounds, and east of the cross timbers to Red River." Evidently the "cross timbers" referred to are in Wise and Montague counties, as the early land patents here are written for Fannin County, and Big Elm is called Big Spring Creek.

We remained a part of Fannin County until 1846. The County of Fannin was put in the Fifth Judicial District May 24, 1838 and was put in the Seventh District Februaiy 5, 1840. The District and Probate Court was held one session in the eastern part of the county and one in the western, as provided for by the Eighth Congress on February 3, 1844. The dividing line began at the mouth of Choctaw Bayou on Red River and ran due south to the south line of said county. Courts were to be held in the eastern part at Bonham and in the western part at Seamon Bradley's residence, which was near where the southeast corner of Grayson County was established.

The Congress had authorized the President to organize ranger companies for the protection of the frontier against the depredations of the Indians. In 1839, '40, and '41 he had three companies of about sixty men each for the protection of Fannin County under the captaincy of Mark R. Roberts, Daniel R. Jackson, and Joseph So well. They were paid for their services by the Sixth Congress of Texas. There were several features distinguishing rangers from soldiers. First, they were given general orders from the President as to territory and duty when they entered service and to report to headquarters whenever possible, which was not often, on account of distance to headquarters and the danger to scouts. The captain, under the governor's instruction, was the unit of authority. Second, they were to furnish and equip themselves and provide for their own maintenance. They had no commissary department to look to for supplies, but lived mostly like the wild Indian on game, which was in abundance. They ranged up and down the State from Red River on the north to a point south covering about onethird of the State's frontier and extending through Denton territory from north to south. There were two noted trails across Big Spring Creek (or Big Elm) from east to west; one where the McKinney road crosses and one at what was afterwards called the Fish Trap Crossing. At both places there is a rock bottom. The trails were sometimes referred to as the "Indian Trail" and the "Ranger Trail."

These rangers doubtless had a varied experience in Denton territory in 1839, '40 and '41, and had they reduced it to writing we would not have been so impoverished as to our early history. These rangers were followed later on by others who established their patrol line farther westward. Capt. Thomas N. B. Greer had a company of rangers who did patrol duty on the line. And after the State was admitted into the Union in 1846, Col. M. T. Johnson had five companies of U. S. soldiers that were enlisted here in Texas and scattered along the line from Red River to a point northwest of Waco on the Brazos River. Col. Bill Fitzhugh of Collin County had a company and the patrol line had stations reaching from Red River to the Brazos. The first station was called Elm Station and was situated between Red River and Gainesville. The second station was called Hickory and was situated at the high knob just south of Hickory Creek at the Fort Worth Crossing about three miles southwest of the present city of Denton. Pilot Knob was much better as a lookout, but had no water. The third station bore the name of Johnson Station, as Colonel Johnson made his headquarters there, and was situated in the east edge of Tarrant County about one mile south of the present town of Arlington.

Col. Fitzhugh's company was stationed half at Elm Station and half at Hickory, the other companies south along the line. The soldiers stayed at the stations at night when not chasing a band of Indians. It was their duty to send a detail north and south along the line each morning to search for Indians or fresh

Indian signs, and they became experts in this line. They would pass down the line until they met the detail from the next station and exchanged information. They then returned to their stations, and thus Col. Johnson had information from the extreme ends of his patrol line every two days. Col. Fitzhugh's company was paid off and disbanded at Johnson's Station in 1849.

It was at Hickory Station that the first murder was committed in this county that we have any knowledge of. A Mr. Teel, a ranger, shot and killed Mr. Ramsey there in 1848, and the next murder was at old Alton in 1855, when Mr. Charles McElroy shot and killed a Mr. George. We will now return to the early '40's and take up other details of current events.

The Eighth Congress of Texas on February 5, 1844 passed an act to open and establish a national highway to be called the Central National Road of the Republic of Texas, to begin at or within fifteen miles below the mouth of Big Elm on the bank of the Trinity River and run north to Red River opposite the mouth of Kiomisha River (which comes into Red River on the north side). The president appointed James Wilson, William M. Williams of Lamar County, John Terry of Fannin County, Rowland W. Box of Harrison County, and James Shaw of Nacogdoches County as a commission to lay out and establish said highway, which they did, beginning on the bank of the Trinity River near the present courthouse in the city of Dallas and running north up what has since been known as the Collin County Ridge to Preston's Bend on Red River, a distance of nearly seventy miles. The commissioners received land certificates for their services, and the lands for about three miles on each side of the highway were declared exempt from location for a certain time, and no lines were to be located across said highway. This road was called by the people, the Preston Road. There were no streams larger than small branches to be crossed in the entire distance. Passing through the center of Fannin County and on top of the ridge overlooking the great fei-tile vallt3y commonly called in early days the Elm Flats, it ran for thij-ty miles parallel to and one and a half miles from where the east line of Denton County was afterwards established. There were fords and ferries at Preston's Bend on Red River, on the Trinity River, and on the Brazos River at Waco. This great pubhc highway was designed to be, and was, the open door of Texas to the immigrants coming from the North.

The young Republic of Texas was in dire need of men and means, and strenuous efforts were being made to colonize the country. Colonization contracts were made on easy terms. The Fifth Congress on January 4, 1841, passed an act granting to married settlers 640 acres of land, to single settlers 320 acres, under certain conditions of settlement. Section four of said act authorized the President to make a contract with W. S. Peters and eighteen others (collectively) to colonize land covering much of North Texas, the whole of what was afterwards set off as Denton County. The contract was afterward amended and many legislative acts were passed explaining and validating land titles under it. It was a prolific field of contention for years afterward. W. S. Peters and his company were to receive as their compensation ten sections of land for each one hundred families, and ten half-sections for each one hundred single men colonized in their territory and who complied with the colonization laws. They were to be responsible to the State for the patent office fees which were about fifteen dollars to each patent, with the privilege of collecting them from the settlers.

The Sixth Congress on February 5, 1842 authorized the President to make colonization contracts with other parties on the same terms and conditions, and quite a number were made, out of which much dissatisfaction and confusion arose among the settlers, and on January 16, 1843, Congress passed a joint resolution authorizing the President to modify said contracts and extend the time of the same. They became such a source of fraud and contention that the Eighth Congress repealed the law authorizing the President to make them and ordered him to have forfeited all contracts whose terms had not been rigidly observed.

Denton County's land titles and her colonists that it became necessary to go more into its details. The settlers were not getting their land patents, and the Third Legislature on March 21, 1850 passed an act to secure to the actual settlers of the colony the lands they were entitled to and authorized the governor to appoint a commission to adjudicate the rights of the settlers to lands surveyed, where the field notes could not be found. The commissioners met the people at Dallas, McKinney, Sherman, Alton (then county seat of Denton County), and Waxahachie. This adjudication with the settlers was to be without prejudice to the company in their settlement with the State.

The Peters Colony had an office in the southeast part of Denton County at which the colony's business was transacted. They had Mr. Oliver Hedgecoke employed as their agent and Judge S. A. Venters as their land clerk. They had surveyors and were engaged in sectionizing the lands of the colony, and they probably had the most of Denton County sectionized and ready to turn in to the land office. But the settlers from near Cedar Hill in Dallas County came up in a body and destroyed the office and all the papers they could find, after which they went to Mr. Hedgecoke's home in Collin County, but he had fled across Red River and could not be found. Most of the papers had been secreted by Judge S. A. Venters and were afterwards delivered to Mr. Hedgecoke by appointment. The real trouble at this specific time arose about the location of the lands. The contract provided for the lands to be sectionized and each alternate section to be reserved from settlement. That did not suit the settlers, as they wanted to select the lands and run the lines to suit themselves and by persistence had their way about it. Hence the land lines in many parts of Denton County run at various angles, much to the detriment of good roads.

The Fourth Legislature passed an act relating to lands in Peters Colony, reciting "that there had been four contracts by the President and the colony, No. 1, August 30, 1841, No. 2, November 20, 1841, No. 3, July 26, 1842, No. 4, January 20, 1843, making altogether one modified contract,"

This act gave the metes and bounds of the colony as follows : "Beginning at a point on Red River, in said four contracts sx>ecifically defined, and running thence along the extreme eastern boundary of said grant south 100 miles, thence west 164 miles, thence north to Red River, thence down said river to the place of beginning." This act was to compromise the diiferences between the colony and the settlers and the State of Texas and to have the suits dismissed which had been brought at Austin to forfeit their contracts.

This act provided for the recognition of the certificates issued by Thomas William Ward, commissioner for the colony, and proof and oath of the colonists in the absence of a certificate ; for the recognition of the surveys made by the colony's officials, or the surveys made by the district or county surveyors, and the right of the colonist to select his own lands.

This compromise permitted the colony to locate their land outside of the colony and in a body, and they were allowed 1,700 sections of land in a body, or about two counties. This land was located where Young and Throckmorton counties were afterwards made. This act was passed February 10, 1852, and the settler was allowed until July 4, 1852 to file on the land. A supplementary act was passed by the Legislature in 1853 extending the time for settlers to file on their land, requiring the colony to file their records with the commissioner of the general land office, the records to be a part of the records and archives of said office.

Before these contracts were closed, the amount of land to the immigrant was reduced to 320 acres of land for married men and 160 acres to single men. They were required to make improvement and live upon the land three years and make proof of same before patent could be issued.