TEXAS HISTORY NOTEBOOK

Dave Rudabaugh

Dave Rudabaugh was known as an outlaw from Dodge City, Kansas to Texas and to the New Mexico Territory. Quite possibly, he was born David Raudebaugh. At least one account says that he was orphaned when his father was killed in the Civil War, but another likely family history is that he came from a very large family who lived mostly in and around Wayne County, Ohio. Indications now are that Dave may have been born in 1854 to John A. Raudebaugh (1826 – 1910) and Susanna Soliday Raudebaugh (1830 – 1910). While the genealogy records on this family are somewhat thin at this time, the 1860 federal census showed a David Raudebaugh of the right age as the second of five children to a farming family by that last name. The 1870 federal census shows this same David as the second oldest of six siblings of what appears to be the same family unit. This particular family is mentioned later in local Ohio newspaper accounts from time to time, usually around Wooster, Ohio. Dave or David is not mentioned in newspaper accounts among the very few than refer to this family. So, the two census records indicate that Dave may have been part of that family unit at one time, but there are no obvious records that tie him as an adult back to the Ohio family.

Henry Clay McGonagill

Henry Clay McGonagill was born on September 24, 1879 to George M. McGonagill (1841 – 1921) and Narcissa Josephine “Grandma” Haynes McGonagill (1839 – 1935) in Sweet Home, Texas. George was born in Oxford, Mississippi in 1841. By the time he was nineteen, his family had moved to Lavaca County, Texas where George was working on his father’s farm. George then served in the Civil War after which he returned to Texas. By 1870, he had married Narcissa and two of their children were born. Narcissa had been born in Tennessee. At the time the 1870 federal census was taken, George was working on his own stock farm. By 1880 their family was complete. They had six children that lived to adulthood, of which Clay was the youngest, and they were still residing in Lavaca County. By 1900, they had moved to West Texas and were living in Midland. Sometime within the next ten years, they had moved to what was then Eddy County in the New Mexico Territory where George was raising horses.

Harold Dow Bugbee

Harold Dow Bugbee was born in Lexington, Massachusetts on August 15, 1900 to Charles Herbert Bugbee (1866 – 1956) and Grace Louise Dow Bugbee (1877 – 1960). According to the 1910 federal census, the family of three was living in Massachusetts where Charles H. Bugbee worked as a farmer. By 1920 per the census they had moved to Clarendon in north Texas around 1914. Charles’ occupation was listed as a stockman. By 1930, Charles was no longer farming and ranching and was serving as Postmaster in Clarendon, having taken office in 1928. At that point, Harold had not yet married and was living in the same residence as Charles and Grace. He was a well known artist by that time and had also been featured in many exhibits.

Corwin F. and Lide Doan

The Vernon Daily Record issue of June 1, 1929 carried the headline “Death Claims C. F. Doan, One of the First Settlers in County.” Doan was one of the first people of European descent to make his residence in Wilbarger County in North Texas and is usually credited (sometimes with his uncle) for being the founder of the old trading post at the nearby Red River crossing into Oklahoma that became known as Doan’s Crossing. Doan had taken a fall a few days earlier and suffered a fractured left hip bone and passed away on the previous Friday, May 31. Funeral services for the Texas pioneer were slated for the following Sunday, June 2, at the First Methodist Church of Vernon with interment to follow at Eastview Memorial Park, a few miles out of town.

Captain Forrest R. “Tex” Biard

Captain Forrest R. Biard was born December 21, 1912 to Robert Jackson “Jack” Biard and Forest Lynn Elkins Biard in Bonham, Texas. Jack was a long time employee in the flour mill business, including Burrus Mills, a familiar name in Texas, where he worked as an auditor. The family moved around with Jack’s job, including some time in Midland, Texas. They eventually settled in Dallas where Forrest was a 1930 graduate of North Dallas High School. He then secured an appointment to the United States Naval Academy where he graduated 11th in his class of 1934.