RICHARD BENJAMIN CONNER

SURNAMES: CONNER, LONG, DONALDSON, HILL, HICKERSON, RIGBY, WATKINS.

Richard Benjamin Conner ("Dick"), b April 17, 1851 in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, d February 9, 1939 - was a son of James Conner, b 1811 in North Carolina, and his wife, Mary Fish (Long) Conner, b 1818 in Virginia. In 1875 in Tishomingo County, Mississippi, he married Margaret Jane Donaldson, b November 17, 1846 in South Carolina, d June 16, 1925 in Falls County, Texas - a daughter of Joseph Wallace Donaldson, b 1817 in Yorksville, South Carolina, and his wife, Rachel Amanda (Hill) Donaldson, b August 23, 1820 in Yorksville, South Carolina, d May 17, 1893 in Falls County, Texas.

Dick Conner moved his family to Falls County, Texas in 1877, settling in their about two miles from what is now the Rosebud Community. The land he purchased was prairie land and good for raising cattle, but he was a farmer and consequently, experienced certain hostility from the cattlemen of the area when he put up fences. Peace was reached, however, as more farmers settled in the area. There was no town near at that time, and provisions were purchased from the community of Wilderville, seven miles away, or over - night trips were made to Marlin for supplies. The Conners worshipped at the Powers Chapel, near Wilderville, which was a Methodist congregation. Because of the distance, those were rare occasions. When a Camp Meeting was in progress, they would go and spend several days camping on the grounds with other families who were attending the meetings. There were a few scattered Indians still living around the countryside when the Conners first settled in Falls County, and one morning when Margaret Jane Conner opened her back door, she almost stumbled over a young Indian girl who was asleep on the stoop. The girl had followed a custom then of seeking shelter for the night at a settler's if caught out after dark.

Falls County, Texas was considered the land of opportunity for the Conner family, who had left the hard times of the post-Civil War years in Mississippi. They were able to acquire more acreage in Falls County, as hard work and perseverence paid off. Deprived of a higher education because of the Civil War and the hardships it had caused, the Conners were determined that their children would have that advantage. They also were determined that all the children in the area should have an educational opportunity in the school established in the new community of Rosebud. In bad weather, Dick Conner would go around the neighboring farms to take any child to school who did not have a way to get there. The Conner children were also provided with additional instruction in Greek and Latin from a fine scholar who settled nearby.

Richard Benjamin and Margaret Jane (Donaldson) Conner were buried in Woodland Cemetery at Rose- bud, as was her mother, who spent the last years of her life with them. The three children of Richard and Jane were:

Ethel Esther Conner, b July 7, 1877, d August 9, 1956 and buried in Woodland Cemetery at Rosebud - married Thomas Jefferson Hickerson.

Arthur Benjamin Conner, b October 20, 1881, d August 4, 1971 and buried in Woodland cemetery at Rosebud - married Nettie Rigby.

Emma Conner, b April 17, 1884, d December 12, 1976 and buried in Woodland Cemetery at Rosebud - married Joseph Moore Watkins.

Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing the biographies of these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County", Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical Commission, page 89 column 1 and 2.
Member of Falls County Historical Commission.