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Thursday, April 07, 2005
Old Dacus Almost without exception, stories told by immigrants from other states, say schools and schooling stopped during the Civil War, and especially during the terrible reconstruction period. We know that George Daniel, forefather of one of our Texas Governors, came to the Old Dacus area about 1873. Although court records show that school districts were put into place and businesses were taxed for schools in 1854. And we know there was a community school in the Bethel area, I have not been able to prove a school in Old Dacus, but do have two clues. One is the story of the Nellie B. Ward Weisinger family of the Mt. Pleasant community, a few miles east of Old Dacus as the crow flies. Old Dacus had a large group of settlers by the time Mollie Ward was born in 1873. Old Dacus was beginning to pass Bethel in population by that time, but Bethel still had the only church and school that we have proof of for sure. But then we have the Mollie Ward story, "I attended Hopewell School where Archie Casburn’s home is now located (In explanation of this statement, Archie and Joyce Casburn lived in 1981 on almost the exact location of the future Goodin store and future Dacus Post Office, also very near the George Daniel homestead)she says; and boarded with the Reverend George Daniel family." While I branch off on related subject matter, don’t forget to remember the Molly Ward story of Hopewell School and George Daniel. From W. N. Martin’s "A History of Montgomery"; There were 42 members of Austin’s Colonies that got land from the Mexican Government; William Landrum and Zachariah Landrum-1831-William Landrum wife, Nancy Gilmore Landrum, William Landrum and wife’s father were veterans of the American Revolution. William Landrum and wife Nancy Gilmore Landrum gave their daughter Mary in marriage to G.B. Gay of Gays Grove, a neighboring plantation. Another daughter Melissa, married Ilia Davis, the grandfather of Anna Davis Weisinger, Montgomery’s leading lady. Masonic Lodge records of 1840 lists William Landrum as owning 1-PALL-LAND T38000-the other property-3SL-35CATTLE-1WOODCK. I don’t know how to read the above except perhaps the 3SL means three slaves. It also lists the William Landrum survey in the Old Dacus area. In pre-Civil War days Gays Grove in the Old Dacus area had many slaves. There were at least twelve families of black people living in the Old Dacus-Bethel area in 1880 as found in the Montgomery County Library records. They were: R. Thompson and wife Lu, Henry English and wife Jane,son Henry and grandson Andrew. Jim Bailey and wife Amy, daughters Lulu, Dinah and Ann, Viney Sites and daughters Ann, Bell and Lora; Jeff Jefferson and wife Sue, and daughter Ella; R. Williams, Kit Jefferson; Pete Jackson and wife Lara; Brother Richard and sister Mollie; Dick Hughes and wife Rachel and daughters Rachel, May and Mollie and son Dick. Boarders were; J and Hugh Hamilton; M. Pinchback, H. Williams and wife Fan and two daughters Gus and Mag, two sons Sean and Lon. (1900 Census) Rob Cook and wife Lee; Tony Davis and wife Pearl; Henry Hutch and wife Carrine and son Erwin; Ben Linton and wife Mollie and sons, Mark, Prince and Charles, daughter Eva; George Jackson and wife Leona and sons General, Ardell, Ward and Willie, daughter Rhody. There is no doubt these were descendants of slaves brought to the Old Dacus-Bethel area by the first settlers coming from many different states East of the Mississippi. In the book "The Cotton Kingdom" by Frederick Law Olmstead, I found this item, In the period from 1852 to 1860, food for slaves and tenant farmers was figured to be $7.50 a year. Citizens without means to build homes and slaves of wealthy land owners went out into the swamps and forests to make "Boards" which meant slabs or planks which were hewed out with an axe, the only instrument available. Slaves were only sent to make boards on Sunday the only day off from the farm work. Next week back to the new clue which I hope will finally prove there was a school in Old Dacus known as the George Daniel Hopewell School. |
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©Montgomery
County News, 2004 |
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