Grimes County Historical Commission Issue 7 Volume 2 July 2016 Meetings of the Grimes County Historical Commission are held on the Second Monday of the Month at 7:00 pm in the Courthouse Annex in Anderson, Texas Contact Information: Russell Cushman 403 Holland Navasota, TX 77868 (936) 825 - 8923 [email protected] Grimes County Historical Commission Executive Board Photo of the Month Chairman Russell Cushman Vice Chairman Joe King Fultz Secretary Vanessa Burzynski Treasurer Joe King Fultz COMMITTEES Historical Markers Denise Upchurch Heritage Preservation Sarah Nash Newsletter & Publicity Vanessa Burzynski GRIMES COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION NEWSLETTER JULY 2016 PAGE 2 The Eagle (Bryan, Texas) Mon. Jul 18, 1927 Comrade of Sam Bass Must Face Murder Charges The Houston Post (Houston, Texas) Thur. Austin – July 18 – April 5, 1900 A comrade of Sam Bass in the battle A Farmer Suicided of Round Rock in Navasota, Texas, April 4 – Steve Floyd, a 1878 when Bass white farmer living near Pender’s store in was killed is still East Grimes County committed suicide living and has yesterday morning with a new revolver been located in a which he bought here Saturday. He went nearby state according to information out behind his home, put his hat between received here from persons who searched his knees, the revolver to his forehead, out the faded landmarks of the historic gun pulled the trigger and blew the entire top of fight at the old settler’s reunion at Round his head off. Justice Vickers held the Rock. Only last week the district judge of inquest. He suffered a long time with his Williamson County refused to quash the 49- head and is supposed to have been year old indictment still hanging over the temporarily insane when he committed the fugitive, it was stated authoritatively. It is desperate act. He leaves a wife and understood the indictment charges Bass’ several children. associate in connection with the fatal shooting of Deputy Sheriff Grimes, who was among those killed in the fight which took Sam Bass’ life. The Houston Post (Houston, Texas) Thur. Grimes was a relative of Captain H. A. Jan. 3, 1907 Highsmith, who took part in the fight with Special to the Post the Bass gang and who two days ago led engineers and a throng of old settlers over Decomposed Body Found every part of the battle ground. A state NAVASOTA, Texas, January 2 – R. W. ranger recently located the remaining Horlock of this city was hunting Monday in member of the Bass gang living in another company with Arch and Drew Pitts on state. The man is now extremely old and Shannon prairie near Dobbin. They ran has been living in good repute among his onto the body of a darkey who was neighbors for over a quarter of a century, it afterwards ascertained to have been know was said. in life as Charlie Shannon. Shannon had Deputy Sheriff Lyman Grimes, referred to been missing for some ten days and had in the foregoing article was the father of probably been lying there dead. The body Mrs. W. M. Cobb of Cameron, and the was very badly decomposed but not grandfather of Benjamin Grimes of San disturbed by vultures, so that it was fairly Angelo, student at A. and M. College and a well established that death was not the member of the Aggie band and of Ty Cobb result of violence. There were $13 in the of Bryan. Deputy Sheriff Grimes’ wife is fellow’s pockets. living at Lampasas. He was killed by Sam Bass and his outlaws at Round Rock, dying instantly. Grimes County was named for Lyman Grimes’ father. GRIMES COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION NEWSLETTER JULY 2016 PAGE 3 The Dallas Daily Herald (Dallas, Texas) Sat. The Galveston Daily News, Sun. June 17, May 27, 1882 1962 The Texians, Fighting Off Indians Told in Special to the Herald Early Taylor Sketch By John Gaines, News Staff Writer Navasota – May 26 – This evening Colonel McKay of Houston attempted to get aboard Writers who enjoy digging into the past the train while in motion. He stumbled (sometimes better left buried) occasionally against someone and fell between the car find something which sheds a new light on platforms. How he escaped death is a established history. During a recent visit in mystery. He was very badly mashed and East Texas this writer was fortunate bruised. enough to find a series of hand written sketches, dated 1906, and written by a pioneer settler, on the history of a portion of Grimes County. Amarillo Globe-Times (Amarillo, Texas) Mrs. Hattie Gulledge Taylor, born Oct. 3, Mon. Jan 19, 1931 1858 in Holmes County, Miss., penned some 10 pages of local facts on early Robbers get $477 From Shiro Bank history of Anderson, the “Capital of SHIRO, Tex. Jan 19 – The Farmers State Grimes”. Although she died Dec. 17, 1939, Bank here was robbed of $477 early today, a great many of her personal papers were E. R. Thomas, cashier, discovered this saved by reason of being tossed into some morning when he opened the bank for old trunks where they have remained until business. Entry to the bank had been recent weeks. The style of writing is old secured through a back window, Thomas fashioned and sometimes might tend to reported. The vault door was standing wander a little but this woman taught open and money was scattered all over the school for over 40 years and that probably floor. “The vault was opened by the qualifies her to say what she means to say combination,” Thomas said. Clues did not exactly the say she wished to say it. reveal whether the robbery was committed “From reliable sources, I glean many by a lone bandit or by several. descriptions and anecdotes of how we Approximately $4,000 was overlooked by Texans used to do in the days when the the robber. Officers of Grimes County and buffalo, deer and bear roamed at will over surrounding counties were seeking the our prairies and woods, and when the long- bandit thought to have taken a refuge in horned cattle were proprietors and Houston. Thomas believed the robbery partners in the long sedge grass that grew occurred about 5 o’clock in the morning. from three to four feet high over all this land that is now under fence and holds a higher aim of production. “During the latter part of the 1830’s and early 1840’s the nearest market for produce and supplies was the city of Houston, then only a small town, the foothold of men generally from the southern states who in after years became wealthy and distinguished citizens. “The great long-horned steers hitched to large strong wagons became the horned express GRIMES COUNTY HISTORICAL COMMISSION NEWSLETTER JULY 2016 PAGE 4 trains in transporting our cotton to teachers boarding around with the families Houston and returning with the family who sent to school. The little log school supplies. One of the keenest and sweetest houses were built near the center of the pleasures of the children of those days was neighborhood and most of the children the eager waiting for the return of those walked two and three miles to school, wagons, freighted with good things to eat, through the big prairies of sedge grass especially so in the fall just before along a row path, and as they trudged Christmas. The children would all collect along, in their happy innocence, the tops of in the open space hear the “big house” and their heads bobbing along was all that by the light of the moon or small fire built could be discovered of their bodies above for the occasion, would listen intently for the tall grass. the first crack of the whip, which was “At this time in 1840 and 1841, the fears handled by expert hands. It was the that over shadowed these pioneers warning of their approach. families on account of the past, were “Over the bad roads and black prairies, augmented by the few travelers who this was a journey of toil, requiring journeyed through the Republic from the patience and generalship. In the city of west to the east, carrying false rumors of Houston the streets would often be an approaching invasion from Mexico blockaded with wagons that had come to a which held them in constant expectation of complete standstill in the black, sticky another “run away scrape”. The first thing mud. The early pioneers had built their log the pioneer mothers did when they moved house homes and brought their families far into their log cabins was to set up their from the luxuries of life and the social spinning wheels and looms and begin the advantages of society and educational weaving of cloth for family use. Often the training for their children, yet their isolated first cloth woven was converted into a condition created a warm hospitality and a wagon sheet to cover the wagon and make courage that was grand and beautiful. It ready for the apprehended move, when the bound them together as a band of Mexican army should draw nearer their brothers, ready and willing to aid each homes. The fear was not realized, but the other to every possible way. Eager to Indians did make occasional raids in the divide whatever was rare in the way of country, and horses and mules were stolen seed, fruit, vine or blooming flower. right out of the farmer’s lots while all were Families were considered as neighbors, fast asleep. who lived five and six miles apart, and The County of Montgomery, from which money was loaned freely by those who had Grimes County was afterward taken, was it, often without the scratch of a pen.