Category Archives: History
A Dangerous Dandy
John King Fisher, known in his adult life as King Fisher, was born on an unknown date in October 1853. His parents were Jobe and Lucinda Warren Fisher. Jobe was a cattleman who owned and operated two freight wagons. Lucinda died … Continue reading
Captain John R. Hughes
As with many a young man in the mid-1800s, John Reynolds Hughes left home at an early age to find his own way in the world. He was but fourteen years of age. At the beginning of his adult life, … Continue reading
El Pistolero
The date was 12 June 1901. Karnes County, Texas Sheriff W. T. Morris (whom everyone called Brack) and a deputy were investigating the theft of a horse. The sheriff’s inquiry led him to the Thulemeyer Ranch outside Kenedy, Texas. Arriving … Continue reading
The Bandit War
(Continued from last week) Governor Ferguson responded to the Mexican/Tejano uprising by hiring a man named Henry Ransom [1] to serve as a Texas Ranger captain in South Texas. To put a fine point on it, Ransom was a ruthless killer … Continue reading
Sedition in Texas —1915
The boss of all white bosses in South Texas was a thoroughly corrupt Brownsville attorney by the name of James Babbage Wells, Jr. Wells controlled South Texas from about 1880 until 1920. Along with wealthy merchants, bankers, and large land-owners, … Continue reading
The Shelby County War
Unable to agree on a boundary between the newly-emerging United States and the Spanish territories in what is now Louisiana, both nations pretty-much ignored that strip of land separating Spanish Texas from the Louisiana territory. The area became known as … Continue reading
Three-Legged Willie
Robert McAlpin Williamson (1804/1805–1859) was the son of Peter B. and Ann (McAlpin) Williamson, who was born in Clark County Georgia. While a teenager, he encountered an illness that confined him to his home for two years and left him … Continue reading
An Overlooked Lawman
Very few people know who Ahijah W. Grimes was —no, not even those who daily travel on the road named in his honor in Round Rock, Texas. Ahijah W. Grimes (called AW by his family and friends) was born in … Continue reading
The Hoodoo War
When Africans were brought over on slave ships they brought their beliefs and practices with them, as all migrating people do. Their form of spirituality shared a commonality with other African religions and practices, which was an abiding faith in the … Continue reading
Frontier Battalion
(Continued from last week) As mentioned in a previous post, Texas began to regain its states’ rights under the leadership of Governor Richard Coke aided by the Democratic Party in 1874. Part of this recovery involved doing away with the … Continue reading
