The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 305
348 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Life of A. Horton
305
LIFE OF A. HORTON AND EARLY SETTLEMENT OF
SAN AUGUSTINE COUNTY1
ALEXANDER HORTON
T was born in the state of North Carolina the 18th day of April,
1810. My father's name was Julius Horton, my mother's name
was Susannah Purnell. My father moved to the state of Louisiana
in 1818. He died in the month of May, 1818, leaving my mother
with nine helpless children. The names of the children were,
Nancy, Elisabeth, Sarah, Samuel, Sandy or Alexander, Martha,
Wade, Henry, Susan. My mother moved to Texas the first of
January, 1824, and settled in San Augustine, then called Ayish
Bayou. There were but a few people then living in the county.
I found James Gaines keeping a ferry on the Sabine River. The
next house was Maximilian's. At the Pato Gaucho Bayou Macon
G. Call [lived]. The next settler was Brian Doughtery [Dough-
erty?], living at the place where Elisha Roberts formerly lived.
The next place was Nathan Davis's. He lived at the crossing of
the Ayish Bayou, at the place where William Blount now resides,
but the houses were east of the houses where Mr. Blount now
resides. At that place lived John A. Williams. From there
there was no one living until you came to the place where Milton
Garrett lived; then a man named Fulcher lived [there?]. And at
or near the Atoyac lived Thomas Spencer. That was about the
number of inhabitants living in this county the first of January,
1824.
But the county from this date began to fill up rapidly. People
'This is the title given by the author to his autobiographical sketch.
It is dated, "San Augustine Oct 18 1891." At that time the writer was
in his eighty-second year. He died January 11, 1894. Though written
so long after the events which they describe, his recollections show little
evidence of being influenced by published accounts, and this apparent
independence naturally increases their value. The sketch is written in a
cheap account book, seven and a half by twelve inches in size. On ac-
count of its recent date, the Editors have not treated it as a document,
but have corrected syntax, spelling, punctuation, and paragraphing. The
language and style, however, are essentially unchanged. The Editors are
indebted to Miss Katie Daffan for obtaining the sketch from Colonel Hor-
ton's daughter, Mrs. L. C. Neale, of San Augustine, with permission to
publish.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911, periodical, 1911; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101054/m1/335/?rotate=270: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.