Grayson County TXGenWeb

100 Pioneers & Early Settlers of the County

The Sherman Courier
Wednesday, August 15, 1917
pg. 6
Fiftieth Anniversary Edition

Descendants of These Men Now Enter Into Every Phase of Our Business and Social Life
Below will be found the names of more than 100 of the pioneers and early settlers of Grayson County, many of whom during their life time were scarcely known outside of their respective communities, while others were more or less prominent in political, social and business life.
A review of these names, however, and a tracing of the name and kin will reveal most interesting results, and it will be found that the descendants of these people now enter into every phase of political, business and social life of today, and some of those whose parents were "last" are now "first", and vice versa.
DAVID C. WILSON, pioneer farmer and teacher of the county, settled in the county in 1847; died in 1886.
JUDGE M. WILSON settled on the Red River in the northeast part of the county in 1865.
JAMES C. WITCHER located at Bells in 1865.
SAMUEL S. WASHBURN settled in the east part of what is now Grayson county when same was a part of Fannin County. He met his death at the hands of Indians.
MARCUS L. WEBSTER, son of Elizer D. Webster, settled near Whitesboro in 1845 and saw service in the Mexican War. He was married to Mary A. Dye in 1863. When Elizer D. Webster, father of Marcus L. Webster, with four other families settled four miles south of where Whitesboro now is, they took their corn to a mill five miles east of where Denison now is to be ground into meal.
Editor's Note: Mrs. G.O. Hunter, now of Sherman, is a daughter of Marcus L. Webster.
SAM W. WELCH came to this county in 1865.
WILLIAM W. WHEAT settled near Farmington in 1845. He was a large land owner and stock raiser and was the father of ten children.
DR. T.M. WEST settled near Cannon in 1850.
HARRISON TONE came from New York to Denison in 1872 and was one of the founders and builders of that city.
WM. F. TURLEY came to Grayson County in 1856.
JAMES C. UMPHRESS settled near Van Alstyne in 1870 and became a large land owner and prominent business man. He died recently.
JAMES H. VADEN came from Tennessee to Grayson county in 1843. He helped to lay off the town of Sherman. Died in 1872.
M.M. VIVION came to the county in 1865.
ISAAC B. WALKER came to Grayson county in 1846 and settled in the western part of the county. He was a pioneer preacher of the Methodist Episcopal church in this section.
EDWARD B. WAPLES came to Sherman in 1877 and moved to Denison in the same year. He and his sons, Paul and J.G., and his son-in-law, A.F. Platter, became quite prominent in business life.
JOHN D. THOMAS, born in Alabama, but a veteran of the Mexican War, settled in Red River county in 1845, came to Grayson county in 1859, and located at Choctaw P.O. In 1857 he married Mary O. Bacon, whose father was a Cumberland Presbyterian minister and had preached in Texas as early as 1828. He was probably the first preacher of that denomination in the Republic.
S.H. THOMPSON settled near Cannon in 1870.
JAMES G. THOMPSON, born in South Carolina in 1802, moved to the Cherokee Nation in 1832, and to Grayson county in 1844, settling on the Red River. He represented Grayson County in the secession convention and was the county judge of the county.
Editor's Note: The late Frank Thompson was a son, and Mrs. D.E. Bryant and Mrs. J.G. Young, now of Sherman, are daughters of J.G. Thompson.
CHAS. L. STOWE came to Sherman from North Carolina in 1867 and married Miss Maggie Fitch in 1872. He has been and is yet prominent and active in business and social life.
F.H. STROUD settled near Howe in 1852. He was born and reared in Virginia.
GEORGE W. SIMPSON came to Grayson county in 1857 and settled near Elmont.
C.C. SWINDLE came to the county in 1874, settling near Sherman.
O.M. STROUD settled near Collinsville in 1875.
HERMAN THOMAS came to the county in 1869, settled at Martin Springs.
J.M. McMURRAY came to the county in 1853, settled near Whitewright and became a large land owner.
NICHOLAS MADDOX came to the county in 1844, was county judge one term. He died in 1879.
JOHN MALLORY, stone-mason and farmer, came to Grayson county in 1860, settling near Whitesboro.
W.H. MARSHALL settled in Whitesboro in 1874 and became prominent in business affairs.
HOLLAND COFFEE, trader and merchant, came to the county in 1848. He was a member of the legislature and prominent in state affairs.
WILLIAM REEVES settled near Whitewright in 1852.
WILLIAM G. REYNOLDS came to the county in 1854, was sheriff of the county from 1854 to 1858, and county judge from 1859 to 1864.
THOMAS C. ROBERTS settled in Grayson county in 1852.
JAMES R. SAVAGE was a Grayson county settler in 1849. He was the father of ten children.
JAS. W. SCOTT came to Grayson county in 1849 and became a successful farmer.
DR. JOHN O. SCOTT, physician, came to Sherman in 1875.
A.H. SHIRLEY settled near Denison in 1851 and became an extensive fruit grower and farmer.
NOAH MILLER, Baptist preacher and farmer, settled near Collinsville in 1850.
JOHN K. MILLER, farmer, came to the county in 1852.
FRANK L. MITCHELL, farmer, settled in the western part of the county in 1867.
GEO. M. MONTGOMERY settled in the eastern part of the county in 1848 and engaged in farming.
DR. SAMUEL W. MOON settled in Van Alstyne in 1877.
JAMES MORROW settled near Whitemound in 1849. He married Sarah A. Lackey, daughter of one of the first settlers, in 1864.
LEVI NIX came to the county in 1869, settling in the southwestern section and became a large land owner.
JAMES C. NUTT settled at Ethel in 1871.
H.O. HEAD came to Grayson County in 1871 and settled in Sherman. He was elected judge of the 15th District Court in 1886.
JOHN HENDRIX came to the county from Kentucky in 1846. John Hendrix, James Vaden and J.B. Shannon were appointed by the legislature in 1847 to lay off the town of Sherman. Col. Montague was appointed surveyor.
M.G. HILDEBRAND came to Sherman from Illinois in 1877 and was for many years in the grocery business in this city. In 1856 he married Sarah J. Kinsey.
ANTHONY M. HESTAND came to Grayson county from Kentucky in 1856. His first wife was Miss Frances Gumm and his second Mrs. Ann Fillingem.
JAMES J. HOGAN came to the county from Alabama in 1871.
HENRY HOLLIDAY came to Grayson county in 1857 and settled at Farmington. He married Miss Rebecca McDaniel in 1867.
C.J. HOWARD came to Grayson county in 1878 from Kentucky. He was married to Laura A. Akers in 1887.
VESTAL HUGHES became a citizen of Grayson county in 1854, coming from Lincoln county, Tennessee.
A.W. HULETT came to the county in 1867 and settled near Pottsboro.
ALLEN JAMESON settled where Jameson now is on coming to the county in 1849 from Lincoln Co., Missouri. His wife was Miss Catherine Savage.
JOHN JENNINGS came to Grayson county in 1847 from Wilson county, Tennessee.
HENRY LACKEY settled near Whitemound in 1849, coming from Tennessee.
DR. JAMES LAFAYETTE LESLIE came to Lamar county from Alabama in 1850 and located in Collin a few miles south of Van Alstyne in 1853. He was married to Miss Ellen L. Jack in 1848.
CAPTAIN W.D. LIGON settled near Whitesboro in 1858. He was prominent both as a farmer and a business man.
REV. T.B. McCOMB moved to Grayson county in 1853. He was one of the first, and for many years one of the most active ministers of the county, filling the pulpit at many places in this and adjoining counties.
W.R. McDONALD came to Grayson county in 1853 from Alabama.
Y.S. McKINNEY settled just over the line in Collin county in 1846, and it was for him that the county seat of Collin county was named. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence of the Republic of Texas. Descendants of Y.S. McKinney have been prominent in Grayson and Collin counties ever since they were organized.
JEREMIAH GILES came from North Carolina in 1867, settled near Cannon.
W.W. HAISLIP settled near Whitemound in 1873.
GILES HARDING came to the county in 1874, settling near Howe.
SAM HANNA came to Denison in 1872 from Shelby county, Kentucky and became prominent in financial, business and social circles of the city.
JOS. W. HAYHURST came to Grayson county in 1846 from Virginia and settled near Van Alstyne. He died in 1868.
EMANUEL EVERHEART came to Grayson county in 1848 from Hawkins county, Tennessee, and bought 4,000 acres of land near Whitewright. A large number of descendants of Emanuel Everheart are now citizens of the county.
DR. JULIAN C. FEILD located in Denison in 1872 when there were very few houses in that city. He was for many years one of the leading physicians of the county.
DR. T.S. FREEMAN settled in Sherman in 1866 and for many years was one of the county's leading physicians.
HUGH M. FULLER came to the county in 1853.
P.J. GASKILL came to Grayson county from Clinton county, Illinois in 1859.
WILEY M. DUNNING moved to the county in 1853 from Kentucky.
WILLIAM C. EUBANK came to Grayson county in 1862, opened a retail grocery business in Sherman in 1868, and entered the wholesale business in 1873 - now Patty-Joiner-Eubank Company - the oldest mercantile business in Grayson county.
JOHN R. COTHER came to Grayson county in 1860 and settled west of Sherman.
REV. THOMAS W. COTTEN came to the county in 1853, settled four miles west of Van Alstyne.
WILLIAM CRENSHAW came to the county in 1857 and settled near Whitemound.
CAPTAIN T.J. DOVE settled in Whitesboro in 1854.
GEO. C. DUGAN settled in Grayson county in 1835 near Bells.
J.P. DUMAS settled at Sister Grove, east of Van Alstyne in 1845. He is said to have erected the third house built in the city of Dallas before locating in Grayson county. His daughter, Texana, was the first white girl born in Grayson county. Texana Dumas became the wife of Reese M. Cannon of Van Alstyne.
HARRY CAMPBELL came to this county in 1847 and settled near Farmington.
R.M. CANNON settled near Van Alstyne in 1852.
B.M. CARO came from Tennessee to Grayson county in 1848 and settled near Tom Bean.
DAVID CHERRY came to the county from San Augustine, Texas, in 1855.
WILLIAM B. CHILES came to the county in 1865. He married Miss Eugenia Morrison, daughter of one of the pioneer settlers.
PETER M. BRUCE, born in Tennessee in 1816, came to Grayson county in 1845.
JUDGE A.M. BRYANT, a native of Kentucky, came to the county in 1853 and settled near Whitewright. He was in the Constitutional Convention of 1868 and was appointed county judge of Grayson county in 1865, serving two years.
DR. R.L. BULLOCK came to Sherman in 1850, retiring from practice in 1884.
THOMAS W. BURKE came to the county in 1859 and settled near Howe.
WILLIAM H. BEAN came to the county in 1857, settled first at Kentuckytown and later at Farmington. Became prominent in agricultural and business life. Died at his home in Howe in 1914.
O.C. BIVINS settled at Farmington in 1847.
JOHN D. BLASSINGAME settled at Elmont in 1855, has a large line of descendants in the county at this time.
THOMAS H. BOWEN came to the county in 1853, settled near Van Alstyne, has many descendants in the county at this time.
CAPTAIN T.J. BROWN came to Texas in 1846, settling first in Collin county in 1859, moved to Sherman in 1872. Became one of the leading men of the state and was Judge of the Supreme Court of the State at the time of his death.
W.R. BRAME settled near Whitewright in 1868.
H.D. BROOKS settled near Whitesboro in 1859.
WILLIAM ALLREED settled near Norton in 1837.
VARNEY ANDREWS settled near Howe in 1858.
THOS. H. ARNETT came to the county in 1862, settled at Whitesboro.
JOHN R. ASTON settled near Bells in 1856.
J.M. BATSELL settled near Whitewright in 1850.
ROBERT S.A. BARNETT settled at Farmington in 1851.