Carylin' on the Oregon Trail - Day Five

After such a grand Day Four and Independence Rock, we awoke in Rock Springs on Thursday, December 20th, had an awesome breakfast and hit the road . . . or the Oregon Trail. The landscape turned from rocks everywhere to a few trees here and there. In the 1850s when wagon trains traveled our direction, fires for cooking were important.

More trees meant more wood to gather for cook fires.

Fort Bridger was our first stop that morning in Unita County, the southern-western-most corner in Wyoming.

I introduced Jim Bridger in the last installment as the guide for the U.S. Army when they were searching for the best way through the territory for the wagon trains.

He is honored there with a full statue.

Mister Bridger established a trading post on the Black Fork of the Green River in 1842, and the Army, a military post in 1858 during the Utah War, also known as the Utah Expedition, Buchanan's Blunder, the Utah Campaign, ot the Mormon War or Rebellion.

It basically was a non-bloody confrontation of the soldiers President Buchanan sent to Utah to negotiate and the Mormons who suspected they were to be slaughtered, having been persecuted before in other areas.

It became a vital re-supply point for the settlers heading west. Fort Bridger served the area until 1890 when it closed.

At that time William Clayton was named sutler, a civilian merchant who sold provisions. 

About twenty minutes (for us----more like two days for the settlers) out of Ft. Bridger, the landscape changed again to abundant scrubby evergreens that would have been used for fuel to save the gathered wood.

From there, we traveled north toward Ft. Hall.

It was a boring stretch for sightseeing. On the way though, we stopped in Montiplier, Idaho where there's a wonderful Oregon/California Trail museum.

Bear Lake there served as a resting place for the wagon train sojourners with lush meadows and water aplenty.

No doubt they had their fill of fish for supper, for which I'm sure they were profoundly grateful.

It is estimated that conservatively, twenty thousand souls died on the Oregon/California Trail; illness was the most common cause, accidents next. Smallpox, influenza, measles, mumps, tuberculosis claimed many lives, but cholera was the worst.

Being run over by a wagon was the number one cause of accidental deaths with accidental gunshot wounds coming in second. The deceased were often buried directly under the trail so the dirt would be hard packed, protecting the body from scavengers.

Imagine a wife losing her husband or worse, losing a child on the trail.

In UNIQUELY COMMON and REMI, the two books released in April and May, they had to quarantine the wagons once for measles, and two minor characters died from them. Another man was killed in an accident. It proved a hard, merciless journey.

The two titles have different heroes and heroines, but the same group of folks, you'll enjoy spending more time with! Each is a stand-alone, but UNIQUELY COMMON, a Lockets and Lace Collection story, could be read first to keep the stories in order. I hope you can tell how much the trip we made on the Oregon / California Trail enriches Remi's story.

BLESSINGS!

Early Texas Towns and Cities -- Mount Pleasant

In the northern part of East Texas, when Texas was still a part of Mexico back in the early 1830s, the Caddo Indians lived peaceful lives in their rounded huts and were known for their large burial mounds. Legend speaks of a particularly high hill the Caddo called ‘Pleasant Mound,’ soon to be known as Mount Pleasant.

When pioneers came to the frontier, the area’s rich land, many creeks, forests, and abundant wildlife, the place lured many to settle and build their homes there. The area is known today as Titus County, named after Andrew Jackson Titus (1814-1855), who was an early resident of the settlement.

In Vow Unbroken, Andrew Titus owned and operated the first trading post, and meets my hero Henry Buckmeyer of the Texas Romance Family Saga series in 1832 when he buys an extra team of mules to get the heroine’s cotton harvest to market in Jefferson. They end up being fast friends with the trader showing up in many other books of the series.

Then in 1840 and the new Cross Timbers Romance Family Saga, Andrew sells the clan from Tennessee a few Texas Headrights along with supplies. He’s the one credited with the good roads between Clarksville, thirty-plus miles to the northwest to Pleasant Mound for the grangers to move their crops to market in the river port of Jefferson.

The Caddo remained in northeast Texas as late as 1845, living peacefully with the white men, but as more and more Anglos came from the east, most disappeared, moving north of the Red River into Oklahoma. On May 11, 1846, the Texas legislature created Titus County. Three other pioneers, John Binion, Sr., Richard Moore, and L. Gilbert, then set aside a forty-eight block town site, laying it out to serve as the new county seat.


The town experienced a steady growth in the 1800's that included farmers planting in the rich soil and lumbermen harvesting the large supply of hardwood trees. By 1850 the population was recorded at two hundred twenty-seven, but by the end of the century, rose to over three thousand. Countywide, the population tripled from three thousand to nine thousand-plus in one decade (1850 to 1860. Land sold for two to ten dollars per acre.

Back then the county was much larger including our present-day Franklin and Morris Counties. High waters along the many creeks and the flooding of the Sulphur River often halted travel in the early years. Record time to haul cotton from Mount Pleasant to Jefferson was five days by ox wagon.

Truck farming with cotton and corn as the main cash crops grew commercially significant. Most families kept oxen, mules, milk cows, hogs, and chickens. They hunted deer, turkeys, pigeon, bear, and small game such as rabbits to eat with the vegetables grown in their gardens.

They lived simple lives with farmers going to town to handle business and purchase other necessities, bringing heavy wagon traffic to Mount Pleasant’s town square. Hitching rails were provided to tie their teams while they shopped with merchants who extended credit with a mortgage on the farmer's crop.

In 1861, Texas voted to secede from the Union, though it was a close and highly contentious debate. Titus County residents voted for it 411 to 285 then as many as three thousand men left to fight with the Confederates. During the Civil War, Mount Pleasant became the site of a confederate transportation depot. Its mission to build wagons, fit them out with teams of oxen, horses, and mules caused a boom to the population.

The wagons were to move men and supplies to the front including beef, butter, corn, rice, cotton, oats, sweet potatoes, flour, cornmeal, leather, lumber, pottery, tobacco, whiskey, and wool. The new depot hired on blacksmiths, carpenters, harness makers and wheelwrights. were employed, and the city’s population boomed.

An old pottery founded during that time moved to Mount Pleasant as well and became one of the largest industries of its kind in the state. Lignite coal mines added to the town’s economy, as did the many new manufacturing plants—nine sawmills, eight gristmills, seven tanneries, and a steam powered distillery.

After the North won the war, grave markers all over the county testified that too many of their young men had given the ultimate sacrifice. A statue of a Confederate soldier facing north was erected in memory of more lost men who never returned. Veterans coming home found farms mostly neglected for the four long years of the war and the area suffered.

It took close to two years before most farms were operational again with cotton "king" once again.

Bio: Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory which is what she lives to do. Her award-winning, best-selling novels enjoy a lion’s share of 5-Star ratings from Christian readers around the world. With thirty-eight titles, it’s obvious she loves writing almost as much as singing the new songs the Lord gives her—listen to a few at YouTube. She and high school sweetheart Ron celebrated fifty years of marriage in June 2018; they share four children and eighteen grandsugars. The McAdoos live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas, waiting expectantly for God to open the next door.

Contact and follow Caryl at: Website  /  Amazon  /  BookBub  /  Facebook  /  Twitter  /  YouTube  /  Puzzle

Spring has Sprung, Maybe

On March 20 spring came. Or did it?

I’ve seen posts from friends who live in the northeast US telling about the latest snowfall. Snow is still on the ground in some areas in the northwestern states. In Atlanta it’s wet and chilly and the temperatures have seemed below normal since spring started. I’ve seen memes all over Facebook about Spring being late or crazy or still sleeping. So, it seems that most of us are dealing with uncertainties about when we’ll finally see the lovely warm weather and flowers of spring.

 

I’d been wondering when it would be safe for me to put out my herb garden and plant the new annuals in my front yard. I did it the first weekend of spring, but I’ve been nervous a few nights when the forecast said the temperatures would drop into the thirties. I live in the South, for goodness sakes. Shouldn’t we be having milder temperatures by now? At least I have a weatherman to give me some guidance. How did the pioneer people know it was safe to plant?

When I think about my herbs and flowers, in reality, if they’re killed by frost or cold temperatures, I can just replace them when I’m sure the weather will be warm enough for them to survive. The early settlers didn’t have that luxury. They often only had enough seed or money to buy seed for one shot. What they planted would have to feed their family and probably bring in a little bit of money when they sold the excess. They couldn’t afford to get the timing wrong like I can.

 

I found some interesting guidelines from Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s  Almanack. I’d imagine most of the pioneer people didn’t own a copy of the book, they simply went about managing their farms from experience and teaching from their ancestors.

“When cottonwood starts to fly, it’s time to plant corn.”

“For every thunderstorm in February, there will be a cold spell in May. “

“When oak trees bend with snow in January, good crops may be expected.”

“If the ash leafs out before the oak, expect a wet season.”

“Frogs singing at dusk indicate fair weather to come.”

“Mist in May and heat in June makes the harvest right soon.”

My grandmother always said that the frost was over when the dogwoods bloomed. She was an avid gardener and was president of her local garden club for most of my childhood—or at least that’s how I remember it.

My research found that much of the folklore hasn’t been proven to be true scientifically. But that didn’t matter to the early citizens of the west territories. They gathered knowledge as they went and improved on every bit of historical advice they could.

Their interest in the true arrival of Spring was intense and their futures depended on getting as much right as possible. While it was also likely they got sick and tired of chilly, wet, unpredictable days just like we do, they're stake was much more about survival. I admire their determination and fortitude.

~~~~~

 

Annie Boone writes sweet western historical romance with a happy ending guaranteed in every single story. Inspiration comes in many forms and Annie finds more than one way to make her stories entertain and inspire.

 

Annie's latest book is the fifth book in the Colorado Matchmaker Series, Selina and Wyatt. Find it on Amazon, along with the complete series.
 


To connect with Annie, find her on Facebook, Twitter, or her website.

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Headrights for Texas Settlers

Even before Texas became a Republic, the Spanish then the Mexicans were giving land grants to encourage settlers to come to live in Tejas.

Moses Austin became an empresario, entering into a contract with the Spanish government in January 1821, agreeing to bring three hundred Catholic families to settle along the Brazos River lands. He selected colonists, allocated lands and oversaw the Mexican law.

When he died, his son Stephen F. Austin took over the contract. Other important empresarios were Green DeWitt, Benjamin Milam, and Sterling Robertson and several others. Each head of household was awarded a league (four thousand four hundred twenty-eight and four-tenths acres of grazing land) and a labor (one hundred seventy-seven and one-tenth cropland) and the empresario, for his compensation, received five leagues and five labors for each one hundred families he settled.

After Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836, the Republic of Texas was born. The cash-strapped new nation used land grants to pay off the veterans of San Jacinto and other battles and awarded heads of families a First Class Headright—a league and a labor, over four thousand acres per man. That the settlers be of the Catholic religion was no longer a requirement.

As more pilgrims answered the call and journeyed to Texas for a new start, the Republic stopped giving First Class Headrights. Though the previous recipients who held the certificates could transfer ownership. The new owner could settle the land, survey it, and were required to live on it for three years in order to patent it—receive title deed to the land.

Up until October 1837, the second class headrights (Twelve hundred eight acres for heads of household and half that for single men were awarded) were offered, and after until January 1840, the grants went to third class giving half those amounts. After January 1840, fourth class headrights with the same acreage (six hundred forty to families, three hundred forty for single men) were issued by the Congress of the Republic of Texas.

This was why my fictitious families, the O’Neals, Van Zandts, and Worleys, headed to Texas from Tennessee in GONE TO TEXAS, the coming-in-September book one of my new Family Saga series Cross Timber Romances. It will also be a part of an exciting new collection fashioned around my favorite holiday—Thanksgiving! Be watching for more news about the Thanksgiving Books & Blessings Collection!
 
The headrights didn’t mean a man owned the land, only that he had a right to make it his own by following the  requirements. To own it, he had to mark the corners, live on it three years, farm ten acres in a crop, survey it, then take care of the paperwork at one of the thirty-eight Government Land Offices (GLO) across the Republic where the Texas settler became a citizen landowner, claiming his title deed for the land.

So if you’re ever driving through Texas and some ranches stretch on for mile after mile, like the Cross Arrow right down the Farm-to-Market from me here in Red River County, rest assured that once upon a time, someone like Henry Buckmeyer, the patriarch of my Texas Romance Family Saga (1832-1950, over ten decades and five generations—nine books strong) obtained vast properties by marking the corners, living on it, farming a portion of it, then taking care of their paperwork at the GLO (government land office).

Bio: Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and a quick scroll through her novels’ rankings by Christian readers attests to the Father’s faithfulness. She loves writing almost as much as singing the new songs He gives her—look her up on YouTube to hear a few. Her high school sweetheart husband won her heart fifty-two years ago and in June 2018, the McAdoos celebrate their Golden anniversary. Blessed with four children and seventeen grandsugars, Ron and Caryl live in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas, waiting expectantly for God to open the next door.

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