texas rangers – Page 2 – Texas History Notebook

Hoodoo War

The Hoodoo War was the common name for the Mason County War, which took place in the middle 1870s in the area and arose over the killing and rustling of cattle. This was typified by attacks from vigilantes wearing masks to conceal their identities and to generate terror. These vigilantes essentially took the law into their own hands in an effort to defend against the alleged perpetrators.

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Fort Fisher

Fort Fisher, as it was known, was set up for a short time on the west bank of the Brazos river near the settlements that would give rise to Waco. It was established by the Texas Rangers to provide security for settlers in 1837 and to the best of our knowledge, it was also abandoned the same year. The outpost was named for William S. Fisher, Secretary of War of the Republic of Texas at the time. Fisher was a long time member of the Texas Army. He would later become a participant in the ill fated Mier Expedition after which he would be captured and imprisoned in Mexico. Fisher passed away around two years after being released from his confinement in Mexico.

Clint Peoples, Texas Ranger

(Image credit: wacohistory.org)

Captain Clinton Thomas Peoples was born August 25, 1910 in Bridgeport, Wise County, Texas to William Thomas and Susie May Johnson Baugh Peoples. In Bridgeport, his parents ran a cafe and candy store. The family later moved to the King Ranch where his father managed a section of the ranch. He attended high school in Conroe where they were living at the time.

First African-American Texas Rangers

Christine Nix was hired in 1994 and became an officer with the Texas Rangers after serving in the military and as a police officer in Temple before moving to another state. She later returned to Texas, moving to Austin. She happened to live near the Texas Department of Safety office which helped to spark her interest in returning to law enforcement.

Charles Drake Ferris, Texas Ranger

Charles Drake “Charlie” Ferris was the son of Warren Angus Ferris, a surveyor who laid out the first streets of the old city of Dallas, Texas. Back in 1917, Charlie Ferris was interviewed by a regional newspaper at his home near Capitan in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Among other things, Charlie talked about the capture of two Texas outlaws, James Pitts and Charles Yeager. According to his recollection, previously written up in the old Pennsylvania Grit, Ferris served as a Texas Ranger for about twenty years.