William Hittson

William Bedford Hittson was born October 14, 1834 in Mount Pleasant, Tennessee to Jesse J. Hittson (1801 – 1861) and Mary Ann Beck Hittson (1798 – 1879). His father, Jesse J. Hittson, was born in Virginia but came to Texas with his family in 1855. The Hittsons were a farming family but began raising cattle after settling in Texas. The family consisted of the parents, Aaron H. Hart (possibly a child from a previous marriage of the former Mary Ann Beck). The couple had two sons of their own, John Nathan Hittson and William Bedford Hittson. Both John and William were married by the time that the whole family moved to Texas. Jesse and the families of Aaron, John and William were all living in Palo Pinto County at the time of his death in 1861 at around the age of 60. No cause of death is noted.

After Jesse died, son John is said to have managed the cattle operation for their mother. None of the immediate family appear to have actively served in the Confederate Army during the Civil War though William Hittson was apparently on the roster of a local militia.

Five years after their father’s death, the Hittson brothers were mentioned in an account of an Indian attack. Near the end of June, 1866 John and William, accompanied by a son of John named Jess, Press McCarty and a formerly enslaved man named Freeman Ward were rounding up cattle on Tecumseh Creek in Throckmorton County when they were attacked by a band of Indians. McCarty managed to escape and was able to arrive at a place called Camp Cooper. McCarty initially reported that the others had been killed. However, that day only Mr. Ward died in the attack. In this account, the survivors noted that Mr. Ward had stopped to pick up his hat and was quickly trapped by the attackers against a rise of rocks. In a short time, he was surrounded and killed. Then John Hittson placed his son Jess behind him on his horse. The two of them along with William Hittson managed to flee to the safety of a tiny cave on the Tecumseh. Their horses were killed but they managed to wait out the attackers and walk back to their camp in the darkness. Mr. Ward was later buried near where he had fallen. (McConnell, Joseph Carroll. “The West Texas Frontier: Or, A Descriptive History of Early Times in Western Texas.” United States: Gazette Print, 1939.)

Many years after the event, the story was recounted by Phin W. Reynolds in the December 18, 1938 issue of the Abilene Reporter-News. Telling his story to a reporter he added that the Hittson brothers had established a ranch in Throckmorton County in the abandoned former United States Army encampment known as Camp Cooper on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River. Mr. Reynolds set the time period as having been after the Elm Creek Raid of 1864 and that after this incident, settlers had “forted up” in various locations to aid in their defense. He identified the attackers in the 1866 Hittson event as Comanche. He further described the event by noting that the Hittson group became quickly involved in a running battle. They were able to find a little depression beneath a rock overhang. The attackers tried shooting them with firearms and arrows. They also tried rolling rocks directly on them or trying to bounce them off trees and bushes outside the protection of the overhang. Unsuccessful at getting to the Hittsons, the attackers eventually gave up and left the scene. Reynolds also noted that settlers were about to send out a search party from another civilian location known as Fort Davis (not to be confused with the military installation by the same name in far West Texas) but that the Hittsons returned before the party was to leave. Reynolds noted that the Hittson family was surprised and relieved to see their family members. After this event, he said, the Hittsons moved into the civilian Fort Davis.

During his lifetime, William Hittson was known as a successful cattleman, whether he was ranching with his brother John or on his own. Like many other ranchers, his business rose and fell with the Texas economy over the decades. At least two cattle brands appear to be associated with the Hittson family in Texas, “BIL” and “HIT” but documentation of these has not yet been located.

William Hittson was often mentioned in newspapers across the state. In 1887 he was noted as being one of the cattlemen adversely affected by a dramatic decline in livestock prices. (Fort Worth Daily Gazette, August 24, 1887.)

In 1889, he was involved in bringing the Weatherford, Mineral Wells and Northwestern railroad to the area which increased rail access in Palo Pinto, Jack, Young Stephens and other nearby counties. The group of sponsors also were involved in the formation of the Mineral Wells national bank. The newspaper article reporting this noted that the bank would be housed in a three story stone building to be constructed. The railway enterprise was expected to also give rise to a new hotel, waterworks and a street railway system. The rail line was also expected to provide a significant boost to the local economy. (Fort Worth Daily Gazette, July 6, 1889.)

William Hinson was married to Martha Brown in 1854. The couple had at least eleven children. Martha Brown Hittson died in 1889. The following year, William married a widow named Elizabeth Jeffries Bowles Young and they had one child.

Brother John Hittson was well known as a cattleman in Texas, New Mexico and Colorado. He died in 1880 as a result of injuries sustained when he was thrown from a wagon and is buried in Colorado.

Hittson Cemetery was established in Palo Pinto County. The oldest family member buried there dates back to 1854. At least twenty-one family members with Hittson in their names are buried there including Jesse and Mary Ann Hittson and William Hittson’s wife Martha. William B. Hittson died in late 1905 and he is also buried there.

Further west near Hamlin but in Fisher County, there was once a small community named Hittson, or Hitson, where the brothers were ranching around 1870. At that time, they were some of the earliest settlers in the area. The community was never very large, although for a few years it had its own post office, a school, a church, several service businesses and some residences. Now there are just a few residences where the old townsite used to be.

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