Stirpes, Volume 34, Number 1, March 1994 Page: 47

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It was a perfectly hopeless place, so Father
looked around and found an empty shack a
little near the Station.
They provisioned us as well as they
could and started out for Houston. They felt
they had been taken-in, and wanted to see
the agent about a refund, and then they
would be able to do something else. It was
very fortunate that we had Phillip with us as
he was a great source of protection to us five
girls.
Emma recalls this incident and sent
me the following, "One of the outstanding
memories in my mind happened soon after
Father and Mother left us in New Philadelphia.
The shack was built a few feet off the
ground. We had heard the place was haunted
and the station manager's son had offered to
come and keep us company -- he was almost
Phillip's age. One of the doors was broken
off the hinges and was propped up against
the opening. I was racing through the house
when my foot struck the door and it fell
down on me, cutting a gash on the side of
my head. Eva and Phillip managed to stop
the flow of blood and bandaged my head. I
was suffering my first attack of homesickness,
which added to my pain and made me
feel my little world had vanished. Just as we
were getting ready for bed, we heard unearthly
grunts and groans and as if that was
not enough, the house shook under our feet.
This went on for a few minutes, until we
could stand it no longer, and all of us,
headed by Phillip and Eva, rushed on to the
gallery. Just then there was a regular stampede
under the house. More groans and
cries, and out came a bunch of razorback
hogs who had been fighting and squealing
trying to bed down for the night. Eva took
charge and got us safely tucked in our beds.
From that night on, Eva took the place of a
second mother to me, which lasted after we
were both elderly women and even until my
sainted sister passed away."
Father and Mother had some very
trying experiences on their trip to Houston,
as they had to strike out over an almost
roadless prairie. Among one of them, they

ran out of water. Father took a pail to see if
he could find a creek, as they could see a
fringe of trees, which usually indicated
water. He was gone so long, Mother grew
uneasy. The wild cattle started milling
around the wagon, and still no sign of Father.
She had a very clear voice, so she
started calling and her calls finally reached
Father. He had gotten turned around and had
wandered in the opposite direction. It must
have been a great relief to hear the sound of
Mother's voice, and he was soon back.
A few days later one of the horses
died, so they were sadly up against it. But
fortunately, they were near Houston and
managed to get help from a farmer and so
reached their destination.
They were gone so much longer than
they had expected to be, our food had begun
to run short. We were all terribly lonesome
and bewildered. One day, Jennie and Phillip
found a few fish hooks on their way home
from the post office. They rigged up some
lines, dug worms, and went fishing in a
nearby creek. In no time, they had caught
several catfish, which was like manna from
Heaven. They caught a good many in the
following days, which helped out our food
supply. We were all beginning to feel that
Mother and Father would never come back
when one night, in walked Mother. She was
the most welcome sight I had ever seen. I
will never forget her darling face when she
kissed us. Her cheeks felt so cool and fresh.
She had returned by train, and Father
had stayed over in Houston. While
there, they heard of a large ranch that was
for sale and decided to buy it and go on to it.
It was located a few miles from Lynchburg,
midway between Houston and Galveston. It
consisted of about 1000 acres, 200 under
fence and fairly well stocked, and several
acres planted in young fruit trees. The house
was built on a bluff overlooking Buffalo
Bayou. The Morgan Steamships passed there
daily.
Houston at that time was quite a railroad
center. It had eight railroads and by the
first of the coming January the road would

47

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Texas State Genealogical Society. Stirpes, Volume 34, Number 1, March 1994, periodical, March 1994; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth39868/m1/49/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Genealogical Society.

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