The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 306

                                
306

Texas Historical Association Quarterly

began to make rapid improvements, and all things seemed pros-
perous. Among the early settlers of this county were some of the
noblest men to be found in any county. They were generous, kind,
honest and brave. I will here give the names of many of them.
I will begin with David and Isaac Renfroe, Elisha Roberts, Donald
McDonald, John Cartwright, Willis Murphy, Philip A. Sublett,
John Chumley, Nathan Davis, Obadiah Hendricks, John Bodine,
John   Lout1 (?), Bailey   Anderson, Benjamin     Thomas, Wily
Thomas, Shedreck Thomas, Thomas Cartwright, Isaac Lindsey,
John G. Love, Martha Lewes and family, George Jones, Acalas
[Achilles] Johnston, Elias K. Davis, Theodore Dorset, John Dor-
set, Benjamin Lindsey, Stephen Prater, Wyatt Hanks, James and
Horatio Hanks, Solomon Miller, Hyram       Brown, William   Loid
[Loyd?]2   George Teel, Edward      Teel, John   Sprowl, James
Bridges, Ross Bridges, Peter Galoway, John McGinnis.       These
were the most [of the] earliest settlers of East Texas.
In 1825 the people began to make rapid improvement, opening
large farms and building cotton gins. This year Elisha Roberts,
John A. Williams, and John Sprowl each erected cotton gins on
the main road, for at that time there was no one living either
north or south of the old king's highway. In the year 1824 Wil-
liam  Quirk built a mill on the Ayish Bayou just above where
Hawke's mill now stands. All things now went on harmoniously
for several years, the county filling up rapidly.
The first trouble we had came in 1827. This was what was
called the Fredonian war. This grew out of a quarrel between
the Mexican citizens of Nacogdoches and Colonel I-Hayden Edwards.
Colonel Edwards had obtained from the Mexican Government the
right to colonize the county south of the road leading from Nacog-
doches to the Sabine River, and had settled in the town of Nacog-
doches with his family; but a dispute arose soon between him and
the Mexican citizens in regard to their land matters. These
things were referred to the Mexican authorities, who at once de-
cided in favor of the Mexican citizens, and at once took from
Edwards his colonial grant and gave the colony to Antonio8 de
Zavala. This act aroused Edwards to desperation, and he at once
'Or Laut.
20Or Lord.
'This should be Lorenzo.