Experiences of men and women in texas

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

FOREWORD 4

OVERVIEW 5

COLONIZATION, 1821 - 1835

INTRODUCING M.C.R., M.S.W.H. & A.R.T.C.

7

SETTING OUT FOR TEXAS

INDIAN TRIBES

MOVING FREQUENTLY & VISITING FAMILY AND FRIENDS

9

THE REPUBLIC, 1836 - 1846

INTRODUCING D.R.H., R.P.P. & M.A.A.M.

10

INDIAN TRIBES

TEXANS VS. MEXICANS & OTHER REASONS FOR MOVING

13

TEXAS TEARS, 1846 - 1869

INTRODUCING M.D.G.W., S.K., R.A.P.B.A., E.I.M. & A.E.H.B.

14

DISEASES

FROM SLAVERY TO THE YANKEE SOLDIERS

CHILDREN'S ROLES

17

THE LAST FRONTIER, 1865 - 1905

INTRODUCING F.D.V.B., L.C.R., E.E.B.D., M.O.T.B. & M.A.P.B.

18

INDIAN TRIBES

COWBOYS

WINTER WEATHER: BLIZZARDS & STORMS

TEXAS RANGERS

23

SUMMARY & RELIGION 25

APPENDIX: THEN & NOW 27

BIBLIOGRAPHY 28

Foreword

This paper carries the title Experiences of men and women in Texas and is closely re- lated to the subject of the Nineteenth Century American Frontier, the Voices of Frontier Women in specific. The westward expansion connected to the different frontiers in North America brought along new opportunities, of which making a fortune and leading a better life can be mentioned. According to Frederick Jackson Turner's The Significance of the Frontier in American History, the frontier life many people sought furnished them with traits that dominate the American character today:

"That coarseness and strength combined with acuteness and inquisitiveness; that practical, inventive turn of mind, quick to find expedients; that masterful grasp of material things, lacking in the artistic but powerful to effect great ends; that restless, nervous energy; that dominant individualism, working for good and evil, and withal that buoyancy and exuberance which comes with freedom – these are traits of the frontier, or traits called out elsewhere because of the ex- istence of the frontier." 2 In the seminar this paper refers to, several frontiers were mentioned and discussed. Among them the Hispanic and the Indian Frontiers as well as the Ranching and Cattle Frontier, all of which seem to play a role in Jo Ella Powell Exley's Texas Tears and Texas Sunshine. This book forms the basis of the findings following this foreword.

In it, sixteen Frontier Women describe parts of their lives, whether it be conflicts with Indians and Yankee soldiers or struggles against natural forces. It covers a time frame from about 1821 until about 1905, thus, of course, including the year 1890 when the Bureau of the Census declared the frontier closed. 3 This time frame is divided into four stages, which, as it becomes obvious from looking at the Table of Contents, was transferred here. On a personal note: When thinking about how to approach this topic, I first thought I

had to directly distinguish between male and female experiences but reading all these reminiscences of life, I did not find a proper way to do so and finally decided to approach the matter synchronically by focusing on the main recurring themes that in themselves not only show to what extent men or women were concerned but also which problems mem- bers of different generations were facing again and again.

2 Peter Bruck The Frontier 1980, pp. 35-36 3 see: Jones, Mary Ellen, Daily Life on The Nineteenth Century American Frontier. Westport, CT; London: Greenwood Press, 1998, p. xiv.

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Overview

Before breaking the paper into pieces, it might be a good idea to give a general over- view of what is to be covered in closer detail in the following pages. The reader is about to enter a world of pleasure and pain providing him with the insights into lives that were once filled with tears and sunshine. As is mentioned on the previous page, the paper revolves around four stages: 1821-1835, 1836-1846, 1846-1869 and 1865-1905.

The time frame from 1821 to 1835 presents the years of colonial Texas, the early days when this state started to be settled by Anglo-Americans or people from states such as North Carolina and Louisiana. Whereas some of them were planters, the majority were hard-working farmers that either longed for fertile land or wanted to make a new begin- ning, or even both. What they did not know beforehand, they were to face problems caused by Indians, mosquitoes and diseases. The Mexicans later added to these hardships. 4 In the second stage, from 1836 to 1846, Texas existed as an independent nation, for, the Texas Declaration of Independence had been proclaimed on March 2, 1836. Those were the days of the Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna who intended to exterminate the entire Anglo-American population. The men living in Texas had to join the army and served in it until the Mexican resistance was broken. Prior to this achievement, women, children, slaves and old or disabled men were entailed in the so-called Runaway Scrape resulting from trying to escape the advancing Mexican army. Since the Indians were an omnipresent danger, the Texans also fled from them. They had left their homes in a more or less good condition but returned to a burned and looted country. 5 This time of violence was followed by a time of happiness and sorrow for Texas women, 1846 to 1869. Texas had become a state in 1845 and when the Civil War broke out in 1861, all men capable of fighting had to ride into battle, leaving their families rather unprotected against epidemic diseases or other hazards. Furthermore, because the slaves were freed after the war, some families found themselves in an uncertain condition of affairs. Lacking a husband's or brother's help in times when they lacked food, clothing or medical supplies, older children had to support their families in order to survive. 6

4 see: Exley, Jo Ella Powell, ed., Texas Tears and Texas Sunshine. Voices of Frontier Women. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1985, p. 3.

5 see: Jo Ella Powell Exley Texas Tears 1985, p. 51 6 see: Exley, pp. 105-106

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The last stage describes the years after the Civil War, from 1865 to 1905, when war-

like Plains Indians were still roaming the country. Therefore the Texas Rangers were reac-

tivated in 1874, to alleviate people's suffering from Indians and outlaws. What courage and

strength must men, but especially women have had to make a living through all of this! 7

"In spite of dangers, hardships, and the deaths of husbands and children, [fron-

tier] women made homes in the harsh land of North and West Texas. Their reminiscences, although tinged with sadness at times, are full of exuberance and pride in their accomplishments. They had come to a new land - a forbid- ding and strange land not easily tamed - and with their husbands had made homes for themselves and their children." 8

7 see: Exley, p. 179 8 Exley, pp. 179-180

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Colonization, 1821 - 1835

Introducing M.C.R., M.S.W.H. & A.R.T.C.

Mary Crownover Rabb was born in 1805, in North Carolina, and married John Rabb

in Jonesboro, Arkansas, when she was sixteen. About two years later, they, with their baby and other members of the Rabb family, decided to go to Texas where they led a nomadic life. Whereas John died in 1861, Mary lived on until 1882. She is said to have been a gifted storyteller. 9 Mary Sherwood Wightman Helm was born in Herkimer County, New York, in

1807. With 18 she married her former teacher, Elias R. Wightman. In 1828 they headed for Texas with about sixty other people. They traveled by wagon, flatboat and raft. One year later, both founded the town of Matagorda. Because of his bad health, the couple moved back to New York in 1841. Two months later Elias died. Several years after, Mary married Meredith Helm, a Kentucky native and one of the founders of Connersville, Indiana. She died in 1886. 10 Ann Raney Thomas Coleman lived from 1810 to 1897 and was originally born in

England. She, her mother and her sister sailed to Brazoria, Texas, in 1832. By a circuitous route, Ann married the wealthy planter John 11 Thomas there. After he and their two sons had died in Louisiana, she married a second time but ended up suing for divorce. The story of her life was edited and published as Victorian Lady on the Texas Frontier. 12

Setting Out for Texas

Since this enters the first stage, the beginning should be made by looking at how peo- ple came to Texas and why. Mary Rabb and other members of her family had packed up their necessities in Arkansas and set out for Texas with cattle, children and belongings. About 100 miles from there, the cattle got sick and had to be left behind to rest. At the Colorado River they met two gentlemen who were kind enough to help them across. They arrived safely at their journey's end, at Indian Hill, in December, 1823. Luckily for her, she did not have much to dread. 13

9 see: Exley, pp. 5-6 10 see: Exley, pp. 19-20 11 Mary and John seem to have been frequently chosen names for babies at that time. 12 see: Exley, pp. 29, 31, 47 13 see: Exley, pp. 7-8

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Mary Wightman and her husband set out for Texas differently. They left New York by wagon, on the route switching to flatboat and raft to get to Pennsylvania, and from there taking a steamboat to New Orleans. The most difficult part of the journey was the way from New Orleans to the Texas coast. It usually took seven days, according to which meas- ure provisions were taken along. Mary got sick from bad water and was sustained by a little vinegar and sugar only. She was nine days without food, had a fever and very little to drink! The ship must have been becalmed for lack of winds, so that the travelers started to lack food and water.

When they were out of cooked provisions, crackers and hard sea bread kept them alive. Due to water shortage, Mary says that one Mr. Pilgrim gave his share to the children and drank whiskey instead. The travelers witnessed a burial and craved for relief. A hurricane finally drove them ashore and they entered the promised land. 14 Ann Coleman, on her part, also sailed to Texas by way of New Orleans, but just like Mary Rabb, she arrived without any trouble. 15 This shows how diverse the journeys could be, and obviously it did not matter how people got there because everybody had the same chances, good or bad luck. However, there must have been a reason why people wanted to face the unknown, leaving a comfort- able home to establish another in unfamiliar places, and there was one: "Beaten paths are for beaten men. They would not have been paths if others had not gone that way before, and those that go before usually take all worth having..." 16

Indian Tribes

It was mostly Indians' land the settlers came to, for which reason it was evident that conflicts had to arise between them. Mary Crownover Rabb thus reports that at Indian Hill, the name already suggests who owned the country, the doors were fastened at night so the Indians could not get in. Her husband had cleared six acres with another family father, and on a Saturday they interrupted their work. By Monday the Indians had caught all but one horse and had left without the event having been noticed. Whenever John was gone, Mary had to keep her spinning wheel going all day and much of the night to not hear them walk- ing around hunting mischief.

14 see: Exley, pp. 19-21 15 see: Exley, p. 29 16 Exley, p. 183 & see: p. 183