texas – Page 41 – Texas History Notebook

Texas Special Investigators, “Hod” Roberson and Dave Allison

On April 1, 1923, special investigators of the Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association Roberson and Allison had come to Seminole, Texas to testify for the Gaines County grand jury in a cattle theft case the following week. It was April Fool’s Day, of course, but it was also Easter Sunday.

The Family of Stephen F. Austin

Stephen Fuller Austin was born in 1793 in Virginia to Moses Austin (1761-1821) and Maria “May” Brown (1768-1824). Stephen was one of five children, three of whom lived to adulthood. The two oldest siblings died as infants: Anna Maria (1787-1787) and Eliza Fuller (1790-1790). Next to be born was Stephen, then Emily (1795-1851) followed by James (1803-1829).

Texas & Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association

In the mid 1800s, settlers began claiming land in Texas and accumulating herds, many of which were made up of free roaming cattle that inhabited the area. For many years, rustling was a problem and was one of the reasons why the Stock-Raisers’ Association of North-West Texas was formed in late 1876 and early 1877 in Graham, Texas by some of the area ranchers.

Charley Pride

Charley Frank Pride was born on March 18, 1934 to Fowler McArthur “Mack” Pride and Tessie B. Stewart Pride in Sledge, Mississippi. His family survived by being sharecropping cotton farmers. Charley told of wanting to have a career in baseball and initially set out to do so. He left home at sixteen to pursue a baseball career and was a pitcher in the old Negro Leagues following his older brother Mack, Jr.

R. C. Buckner

Robert Cooke “Father” Buckner was born January 3, 1833 in Madisonville, Tennessee to Rev. Daniel Buckner and Mary Polly Hampton Buckner. He was the youngest son and the fifth of six children (three sons and three daughters). His oldest brother, Henry Frieland Buckner (1818-1882) was also born in Tennessee and served as a career missionary to the Creek tribe in Oklahoma. Henry Frieland also founded the Murrow Orphan’s Home. The middle brother, Bennett Burrow Buckner (1826-1848), joined the United States Army from Tennessee in 1847 and died in Mexico City in 1848 while serving in the Army during the Mexican-American War. His oldest sister Harriet Caroline Buckner died as an infant in 1821 in Tennessee. His second sister was Miriam Isabelle Buckner. She moved to Texas and married a school teacher, Aaron Holt, originally of New Hampshire. They had a son named Adoniram Judson Holt, mentioned below. R. C.’s youngest sister was Anne Haseltine Buckner who married a carpenter named Williams and lived in Paris, Texas.