The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 67, July 1963 - April, 1964 Page: 619

Book Reviews

the insight he has into their lives. He explains their marriages,
financial problems, family expansions, wars, business opportuni-
ties, governmental problems, and deaths.
Two of Vest's most moving chapters deal with the Texas Revolu-
tion and the "Years of the Republic." Samuel Wolfenberger's
role in the formation of the Mina Committee of Safety and Cor-
respondence, Thomas Osborne's wound at the Battle of Concep-
cion, and Samuel Wolfenberger's and William M. Eastland's part
in the fighting at San Antonio toward the end of 1835 are all
covered. Indian problems and expeditions against the Mexicans
are given attention alongside President Lamar's visit to Bastrop,
elections, and Bastrop's efforts to be selected as the state capital.
For a decade and a half after Texas joined the Union, the story
of the Watterson folk was one of population increase and educa-
tional, religious, and agricultural development.
Then came the Civil War and the problem of the "runaway
slave." Even though Bastrop County voted against secession, its
citizens still made substantial contributions to the Southern cause.
Some, such as the Weaver family, continued denunciation of the
Confederacy throughout its existence. This chapter is well spiced
with letters giving personal touches to the feelings of the soldiers
serving in Arkansas and other places, while the "home front" is
accounted for in a similar fashion.
Growth after the war and methods of earning a living receive
treatment in adequate proportions. Chapters on schools, social
and religious life, and Negro progress lead up to the final chapter
entitled "The Changing Years." It covers the period from 1915
to 1962 and includes some of Vest's own experiences in World
War II.
Appendices cover genealogies, cemeteries, the register of the
Watterson Methodist Church, and the accounts in the Charles
Coffin Watterson Store, 1878-19o6.
All in all, one is hard put to find major omissions in Watterson
Folk; however, some errors can be found, such as the confusion
of Thomas Jefferson Green with Tom Green (p. 94), the omission
of the number of Mier men condemned to death by Santa Anna
(p. 48), the printing of John H. Bradford instead of Bradburn
(p. 31), and the misspelling of De Witt (p. 39).

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