Johnny Horton

John Gale Horton was a country and western singer. He was the son of John Loly Horton (1890-1959) and Ella Claudia Robinson Horton (1892-1966) in Los Angeles, California. He was raised in East Texas. In the 1930 census, Johnny was the youngest of five children (three sons and two daughters) and his father John listed his occupation as farmer, probably a sharecropper. In the census form, Johnny is called “Gayle.” By 1940, the family was living in Cherokee County, Texas, Johnny’s father’s occupation was listed as farmer and by that time, the family consisted of the parents, Johnny’s older sister and himself. His name was spelled “Gale” in this census form.

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David and Hannah Burnet

David Gouverneur Burnet was born on April 14, 1788 in Newark, New Jersey to Dr. William Russell Burnet (1730-1791) and Gertrude Gouverneur Burnet (1725-1791). Dr. Burnet had been married twice, first to Mary Camp (1737-1781) with whom he had at least eleven children. After Mary died, Dr. Burnet married Gertrude, with whom he had another three children of which David was the youngest. The Burnet family was quite well known and influential in the early days of New Jersey. Many of the adult sons enlisted in the militia upon learning of the Battle of Lexington. Dr. Burnet had previously opened a medical office in Newark. During the Revolutionary War, he became surgeon general of the eastern army. One account stated that Dr. Burnet was stationed at West Point and was in the room with former patriot and traitor Benedict Arnold when he received a letter from a messenger that a British officer, a Major Andre, had been captured. Arnold knew that his activities in cooperation with the British were about to be exposed. During the war, the Burnet family hosted George and Martha Washington. Dr. Burnet and Mrs. Burnet died rather suddenly in 1791. Both of David’s parents having died when he was three years old, he went to live with two of his half brothers, Jacob and Isaac, in Cincinnati, Ohio.

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Holland Coffee and Coffee’s Station

Holland Coffee was born in 1807 to James Ambrose Coffee (1762-1818) and Mildred Moore Coffee (1770-1812). He was the youngest of twelve children. Both parents had died, apparently of natural causes, by the time he was eleven years old and Holland was taken in by his uncle Jesse Coffee in McMinnville, Tennessee. By 1829, Coffee had found his way to Fort Smith, Arkansas. There he, Silas Check Colville, James Mayberry Randolph other individuals founded Coffee, Colville and Company, to supply local settlers, local tribes and trappers with provisions. Around this time, Coffee is believed to have become acquainted with Sam Houston, an acquaintance that would be revisited later.

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Gordon “Tex” Beneke

Gordon Lee Beneke was born February 12, 1914 in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas to Frank Snyder Beneke (1890-1966) and Dixie L. Delmage Beneke (1895-1988). Dixie’s parents were Edgar and Ella Delmage. Her parents had been born in France and Germany, respectively, and in the 1900 census, Edgar’s profession was listed as cigar maker and their small family was living in Huntsville, Walker County, Texas. Sometimes very interesting comes out in the census reports. In the 1910 census, Edgar Delmage’s birthplace was shown to be “Atlantic Ocean” as though he were born at sea, perhaps when his family was en route to the United States. Frank’s family tree indicates that his family had been in the United States a bit longer. His own grandfather Beneke had been born in Germany (Prussia). Frank’s profession was listed as pressman, which is to say that he worked in the printing department around the time that Tex was born. He eventually ran the press for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

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