Texas History Notebook

Frances Cooke Lipscomb Van Zandt and Isaac Van Zandt

Although her husband Isaac Van Zandt is probably better known, Frances Cooke Lipscomb Van Zandt’s pioneer story is interesting. She was born March 4, 1816 to William Lipscomb and Ann Day Cooke Lipscomb. Isaac was born July 10, 1813 in Franklin, Tennessee to Mary Margaret Isaacs Van Zandt and Jacob Van Zandt. Isaac’s ancestry was Dutch, but both his grandfathers had participated in the Revolutionary War.

Acknowledging Frances’ 90th birthday, she and her daughter Ida gave a newspaper interview in which they provided more details about Frances’ life in the early days on the frontier of Texas. Frances was married to Isaac Van Zandt in Franklin County, Tennessee on December 18, 1833 when she was 17 and he was 20 years old and working as a merchant in the family store. Around two years later, the couple decided to make their home in Coffeeville, Mississippi along with their daughter Louisa and son Khleber. Life was good, but only for a short time until 1837 when there was a widespread economic depression, leading Isaac to close his business. Isaac studied law and was admitted to the Mississippi bar. Then in 1838, the family decided to move to the Republic of Texas and set out to make the journey by wagon. They got as far as the Louisiana-Texas border before running low on funds. Isaac and the family stopped at an abandoned garrison known as Camp Sabine, formerly a post of the United States Army, located east of the Sabine River. There they remained for the rest of that year before moving on to northeast Texas.

After a short time in the community called Elysian Fields, they made their new home in a one room log cabin in what is now Harrison County. Times were harsh and food was scarce. Frances told of Isaac once leaving her to travel 10 miles on horseback to try and purchase a bushel of corn. She expected him to be gone a week or ten days, but Isaac returned four weeks later on foot, leading his horse which carried the corn. He had absolutely no money left, but they had a little food. She noted that occasionally travelers would stop on their way and spend time at their home. At first she was apprehensive, but later grew to welcome the company. She also recalled being happy even when a group of wild hogs temporarily took up residence around the house.

On one occasion while Isaac was away, she heard unexpected noises in the cabin and thought that she was about to be attacked by renegades or bandits. It turned out to be only an owl that had inadvertently gotten trapped in the house and was trying to get free. Around that same time, they were once again running low on food and were down to some butter beans. She saved the speckled beans to eat, she said, and the white beans to plant. Soon afterward, a close neighbor offered her a bushel of potatoes per day if she would help her harvest her potato crop. Her “pay” was five bushels of potatoes which they ate on for weeks. She recalled getting sick during their weeks of eating nothing but potatoes. Their lodging had no chimney so they cooked outside, even as winter began to arrive. She recalled that they ate with their plates on their laps until once when they had some company. She said her first “dinner” table was fashioned from the tailgate of their old wagon. Early the next January (1840), their second son Isaac L. was born. Frances called him their first Native Texan. She remembered that their supply of meat at that time consisted of one rabbit and half of an opossum.

Isaac was called back to Mississippi on business the next March. Frances noted that he left wearing a pair of red leather shoes that he had made himself. He was away until the following June. After they had been in Texas one year, Isaac was elected to the Texas congress. He served as a representative of Harrison County from 1840 – 1842.

The family was able to build a home on their property. Isaac donated land to form a town to serve as the county seat. They named the new town site Marshall in honor of John Marshall, who was then Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Their second daughter Frances was born in 1842. Around the months leading up to the transition from independent republic to statehood, he was appointed by Sam Houston to be a diplomatic representative (with the official title of Chargé d’Affaires) to the United States, requiring the family to briefly reside in Washington where their third daughter Ida was born in 1844. Isaac, along with James Pinckney Henderson (1st Governor of Texas), helped to draft the Annexation Treaty admitting Texas to the Union.

The family returned to Texas. As Texas prepared for statehood, Isaac was asked to participate in the convention to frame the first state constitution, along with Henderson and others. Near the end Henderson’s term as Governor, Isaac began a drive to succeed him in that office. He was in Houston campaigning when he contracted yellow fever leading to his death at the age of 34 at a local hotel on October 11, 1847. His remains were returned to Marshall where he was buried in what is now Greenwood Cemetery. The following year, Van Zandt County was formed out of Henderson County and named in his honor.

The couple had one more child, Isaac Van Zandt, Jr. born in 1846 who died in 1847. Frances was left to raise her family, consisting of the three daughters and two sons. She later adopted Willie L. Anderson, born in 1857, who lived to be 17. The circumstances of his birth, adoption, early life and death are unknown.

Their oldest daughter Louisa (1834 – 1924) married Jeremiah M. Clough who was killed early in the Civil War. Khleber Miller (1836 – 1930), the oldest son, survived the war and went on to be a lawyer, businessman and politician primarily in Fort Worth. Isaac Lycergus (1840 – 1935), a medical doctor, served in the medical bureau of Confederate Army and returned to Fort Worth. Isaac L. is the great grandfather of the late musician Townes Van Zandt. Frances (1842 – 1935), married Dr. Elias James Beall, a medical doctor. Ida (1844 – 1937) married James Jones Jarvis, of Fort Worth. Isaac, Isaac, Jr., Louisa and Willie are all buried in the Van Zandt family cemetery in Marshall which became Greenwood Cemetery. Most of the Van Zandt family mentioned above and many other relatives are buried in Fort Worth’s Oakwood Cemetery.

Frances died at the age of 93 on April 8, 1909. Her obituary refers to Frances’ unusual requests. In her will and personal instructions, she was said to request that her family and friends not wear black mourning clothes or express grief. She preferred to have a simple burial, a minimal ceremony and be remembered in other ways. Frances is also buried at Oakwood Cemetery.

The family home site and surrounding land was donated in 1912 to the College of Marshall, now known as East Texas Baptist University which has an affiliation with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Isaac and Frances were members of the denomination called Primitive Baptist but were long time supporters of other Baptist entities.

Acknowledgement: Thanks to Sarah Reveley for introducing me to Frances; Sources: various newspaper archives and online genealogy websites.

Lang & Witchell Courthouses

The architectural firm was founded by Otto Lang and Frank Witchell. Otto Lang was born in Germany in 1864. He came to the United States in 1888 on a wedding trip and decided to stay in Dallas. For a couple of years, he worked for local architects who did work for Texas and Pacific Railway. One of the buildings he designed there was the Texas and Pacific depot in Fort Worth followed by the depots in Wichita Falls, Amarillo, Paris and Weatherford. Lang formed his partnership with Frank Witchell in 1905.

Lost Padre Mine

Paraphrasing Robert Louis Stevenson, there is something in a treasure that attaches itself to a man’s mind and won’t let it go. One of the persisting legends in West Texas is that of the Lost Padre Mine, or “La Mina del Padre.” Possible locations include southern New Mexico and the area around El Paso, Texas.

Lonnie “Bo” Pilgrim

Lonnie Alford “Bo” Pilgrim was born May 8, 1928 six miles south of Pittsburg, Camp County, Texas to Alonzo Monroe Pilgrim and Nettie Gertrude Gunn Pilgrim. Lonnie was the fourth of seven children born to the couple. The nickname of “Bo” was given to him when he was a boy and he went by it for the rest of his life.

He grew up near Pittsburg where his father was a merchant, operating one of the only two stores in Pine, the small community where they lived. Alonzo died in 1939 and for a time, his mother ran the store. In 1946 Bo’s brother Aubrey along with a partner named Pat Johns bought a small feed mill from W. W. Weems in Pittsburg for $3,500 and invited Bo to join them. Aubrey was in his early twenties and Bo was about eighteen years old at the time. Bo began his long career by driving the feed store truck. His rate of pay was 50 cents an hour. Mr. Johns is likely a reference to a somewhat older Thomas Jeffie “Pat” Johns also of Pine, who is believed to have sold his interest in the business early on. As the company grew, its headquarters remained in Pittsburg for a long time. The grain elevator/feed store facility is still there and has operated from time to time as part of the Pilgrim enterprises.

Dr. Charles W. Graham

Charles Wesley Graham was born on July 13, 1932 in Thorndale, Milam County, Texas to John Wesley Graham and Iva Lee Clark Graham. He was the oldest of three children born to the couple. Dr. Graham was among the fourth generation in the Graham family to have been born in Texas. As a youth, he showed livestock though FFA and 4-H. He attended Wharton Jr. College and later earned his undergraduate degrees in animal husbandry and animal science from Texas A&M (Class of 1953). After serving in the United States Army and working at a summer job for a veterinarian in Elgin, he returned to Texas A&M where he earned a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree in May, 1961, graduating with honors.

Dr. Graham became well known in the industry for his work in equine medicine. He settled in Elgin, on the border of Travis and Bastrop counties, where he was a co-founder along with Dr. Wallace H. Cardwell (also an A&M veterinary school graduate) to organize the Elgin Veterinary Hospital which specialized in large animal medicine, bovine and equine. At the time, it was the largest facility of its kind in Texas. Dr. Graham became sought after for his experience in breeding as well. Soon, he as able to establish the business known as Southwest Stallion Station, also located in Elgin. One of the early successes of Southwest Stallion Station was a race horse named Three Ohs, Ruidoso Downs’ winning horse from 1968 which helped to establish the reputation of the facility. His other business interests included Graham Land and Cattle Co., a Gonzales County feed lot for cattle, and an interest in Heritage Place Sale Company, a sales facility for horses, in Oklahoma City.

He was a speaker at quarter horse meetings on various subjects including chronic lameness, mosquito-borne equine encephalomyelitis, etc. Dr. Graham was involved in the American Quarter Horse Association, American Association of Equine Practitioners, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas Horsemen’s Partnership, Texas Horseracing Association, Texas Veterinary Medical Association, Texas Quarter Horse Association, Texas Thoroughbred Association and many others. He served as an officer of many of these organizations.

He had a keen interest in racing and was known for having bred dozens of winners and starting horses for his own account, as well as for other owners. He is known to have promoted the racing business to various elected officials back in the 1970s when Texas was considering the allowance of pari-mutuel horse racing. Biographies also note that he served on the AQHA’s Equine Research Committee and found time to be an adjunct professor at Texas A&M’s veterinary college. He was also actively involved in the development of youth programs and was interested in performance and ranch horses. He also served as race track veterinarian from time to time. His co-owned Southwest Stallion Station handled the breeding of horses from well known bloodlines, such as the son of famed racing horse Secretariat. Dr. Graham was also an owner in the syndicate for that horse.

His many honors include being inducted into the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame, the Texas Horse Racing Hall of Fame, the American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame and the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame. Texas A&M has honored him in many ways. In 2016 he was named as a Texas A&M Distinguished Alumnus. In 2013, he received the Texas A&M AgriLife Distinguished Texas in Agriculture Award. In 2010, he was named an Outstanding Alumnus by the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and in 1991 he received the Outstanding Alumnus Award from the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. In addition, the Charles W. “Doc” Graham ’53 DVM, The Texas A&M University System Center on the West Texas A&M University campus in Canyon, Texas was named for him. Austin’s Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo offices are named for him.

He was personally known for being an early riser and typically was at his office before sunrise each work day. Articles also mention his strong work ethic. He was quoted as saying “My dream was to own a horse facility and be in the stud business. If I was going to succeed, I figured I’d have to impress them with my work.” he said. “I thought it was possible, because I didn’t know a person who could outwork me.” He was proud of his association with Texas A&M and wore his Aggie ring every day.

In 1956, he was married to the former Nancy Ellen Smith who predeceased him in 2017. The couple had three children. Dr. Graham passed away on June 21, 2025, at the age of 92 in his home in Elgin, Texas, after suffering with cancer.

Visitation was held at Providence-Jones Family Funeral home in Elgin and a celebration of life service was held at the Travis County Exposition Center’s Luedecke Arena in Austin. Memorial contributions were directed to Race Track Chaplaincy of America, South Texas Council.

Sources include various newspaper articles, https://www.findfarmcredit.com/landscapes-articles/tall-in-the-saddle, https://www.providencejonesfuneralhome.com/obituaries/charles-graham, https://www.aqha.com/-/dr.-charles-graham, and others.