History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 424

HIb TOR OF TEXAS.

North Carolina, in which county was situated
the old family seat where her parents
had for many years lived and where they
died and were buried. Martin Hefley and
wife resided in North Carolina for a number
of years after their marriage, but in 1829
emigrated to west Tennessee and settled near
Lexington, in Henderson county, where they
both died in November, 1841, each aged
fifty-one years. They were plain, substantial
people, up to the average in point of intelligence,
wealth, industry and the household
virtues, and reared a tahuily of seven children,
to whoIm they transmitted these possessions
in a reasonable degree. The lather,
although not a public character, was a patriotic
citizen and discharged acceptably all the
functions and duties of suchL. He was a
volunteer in the war of 1812, but was never
in active service, the war closing just as his
company reached Wadesboro, North Carolina,
and reported for duty. He was a Major
in the local militia, and figured in the military
annals of his county on A" muster day,"
those great occasions of ginger-bread, hard
cider and other semi-social and military festivities.

The subject of this notice is the second in
point of age of the seven children of Martin
and Clarissa Ilefley, the others being an
older sister, Eliza, who was married to
William Whittle and moved to Alabama,
where she died, leaving a family; Joseph
M., who died at Nashville, Tennessee, in
1834, at the age of thirty-one, unmarried;
Phillip Jackson, who died in Henderson
county, Tennessee, where his descendants
now live; George W., a resident of Belton,
Texas; Samuel M., a resident of Cameron;
and Harriet Caroline, the widow of James
Moffitt, living now in Henderson Iounty,
Tennessee.

William V. Hefley, of this article, was
principally reared in Henderson county, Tennessee.
He was brought up on the farm and
received only the limited education offered
by the schools of that date. On February
15, 1844, he married Miss Jane Emily Renshaw,
a daughter of John and Martha
(Walkup) Renshaw and a native of Henderson
county, where her parents were early
settlers. In 1854 Mr. Hefley came to Texas,
leaving Henderson county, Tennessee, October
9, and reaching Cameron, Milam county,
December 3 following. He came overland,
the usual, and in fact only mode of travel in
that day, following the trails as they had
had been established from point to point and
meeting with such experiences as befell the
early immigrants. In Panola county, Mississippi,
he was joined by his father-in-law,
John Renshaw, and his family. Their route
lay by way of Helena, Arkansas, where they
crossed the Mississippi river, thence to Harris'
Ferry, where White river was crossed, thence
to Camden, where the Washita was crossed,
thence by way of Palestine to the Trinity,
which was crossed at Bonner's Ferry and the
Brazos at the falls.
It had been Mr. Hefley's intention to locate
on the Gaudalupe, but, it being midwinter,
the roads became impassable, and he
made a temporary stop in Milam county,
where, liking the country, he decided to cast
his lot. The first year he lived at Cameron.
He then bought a tract of land consisting of
300 acres in the Lewis league, lying about a
mile and a half north and west of Cameron,
on which he took up his residence in 1855.
When he purchased the place it was practically
without improvements, all that had been
done having been the breaking of some ten
or twelve acres. Mr. Hefley selected as a
building site a pecan grove, sufficiently high

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