A trainload of Baptists

In 1901 a trainload (or two) of westward bound families from Hall County, Georgia landed in Rusk County, Texas. These folks, many of them relatives of my wife, added to the number of Baptists in Rusk County. The traditional story known by the younger generations of the families is that as recorded by Daily News Staff writer Richard Oliver, when he wrote a story on Henderson couple Mr. and Mrs. W. D. Holland.

“Not satisfied with the situation in Georgia, the Hollands decided to move to better country and immediately settled in Henderson in 1901. Mr. Holland, along with three other men, Jim Hickey (namesake for the Hickey Community), Newt Dickinson and Fels Shockley, struck upon the idea of selling tickets for their excursion to Texas and ‘greener pastures’. So 63 inhabitants of Georgia boarded the excursion as passengers of Holland and Company. The troupe came by train most of the way and stopped at Longview to board the Overton-Henderson train.” (Henderson Daily News, Sunday, March 13, 1938, p. 3)

This information is correct, though some of it apt to be inferred incorrectly. I always thought Jim Hickey was a farmer in the community named for him. Not so. Other sources now more readily available help fill in the details. 

James Calvin “Jim” Hickey (1846-1920) was a Tennessean by birth, and had lived in Rusk County, Texas since his parents (Robert Hamilton Hickey & Elizabeth Arnwine Hickey) had settled in Pine Hill in 1850. He was a promoter of land purchasing in Rusk County, and did come from Gainesville to Henderson – not because he lived there, but because he had spent most of the summer of 1901 in Gainesville. This advertisement ran in the Gainesville Georgia Cracker newspaper (and possibly others).

The Georgia Cracker, October 12, 1901, page 2

The July 6, 1901 issue of the same paper reported:

“Mr. J. C. Hickey of Henderson, Texas, one of the oil-well developers, is in the city for the summer, with his wife and daughter.” (The Georgia Cracker, Saturday, July 6, 1901, p. 7)

Some of the Gainesville men traveled to Rusk County to check out the land, and some purchased there (though we might question the newspaper reporter’s reliability concerning the names).[i]

“Four gentlemen from this county, Messrs Eli Strickland, John Wilson, Lem Holland and — Roper went out there the past summer and came home delighted with what they saw. Two and probably four of them have bought in Rusk county and will soon move there.” (The Georgia Cracker, Saturday, October 12, 1901, p. 6)

By December 1901, the Hall County families were on their way.

“Gone To Texas.

“A number of Hall county citizens, accompanied by their families, left for Rusk county, Texas, Wednesday to make their homes in the Lone Star State. Among those who went were: G. N. Dickerson and family, Will Reed and family, W. D. Holland and family, Eligah Holland and family, Gravitt and family, Jerry Brown and family, Q. M. Shockley and family, J. M. Thomas and family, and several others. We wish them well in their new home, and regret they saw fit to leave Hall county. They will make Texas good citizens, and Georgia’s loss is her gain.” (The Georgia Cracker, December 14, 1901, p. 3)

An account in a Henderson, Texas paper indicates there were two trainloads of Georgians.

“The second car load of Georgians, headed by Mr. W. D. Holland, one of the four gentlemen who were here last August, reaching Henderson last Friday at noon…” (“Looking Backward, 40 Years Ago Today,” Henderson Daily News, Thursday, December 18, 1941, p. 14)

These families generally settled in the Hickey Community, roughly 7 miles southwest of the square in Henderson, Texas. Some sources suggest W. D. “Dock” Holland lived at 508 West Main Street in Henderson from the time he moved to Texas. This is incorrect.[ii] He was a member of the Mt. Enon Church, which met somewhere near Hickey, Good Springs, and Gum Springs. W. D. Holland was messenger from the Mt. Enon Church to Mt. Zion Baptist Association in 1903 and 1904. After moving to Henderson, he probably was a member of the First Baptist Church. His funeral was held January 9, 1942 at First Baptist Church in Henderson, by its pastor H. Marshall Smith.[iii]

The Holland and related families have been members of the old Mt. Enon Church, Hickey Baptist Church, First Baptist Henderson, and scattered among many other churches in Rusk County. Likely, some in this trainload of Georgians who came to Rusk County were not Baptists, but the ones we know of were. The Hollands in Georgia were members of Baptist churches around Flowery Branch in Forsyth County and Gainesville, including the New Bethany Baptist Church in the Oakwood Community. One brother of Dock who remained in Georgia, Archibald Harrison Holland, was a Baptist preacher. 

The following families lived in Hall County, Georgia in 1900, and are known to (Brown, Dickinson, Holland, Reed, J. Shockley) or believed to (Gravitt, Q. Shockley, Thomas) have come to Rusk County in 1901. The list based on the 1900 census accounts for 61 people, very close to the number of 63 found in the Henderson Daily News article from March 13, 1938.

Brown Family             (8)
Jerry Brown                47        Head
Mary L Brown            47        Wife
Lizzie Brown              24        Daughter
Leuella Brown            18        Daughter
Franklin Brown          16        Son
Alice Brown               14        Daughter
Isabella Brown            9          Daughter
Eula Brown                 7          Daughter
 
Dickinson Family       (7)
Geo N Dickinson        45        Head
Sarah A Dickinson      51        Wife
Berta R Dickinson       21        Daughter
Nellie E Dickinson      19        Daughter
Eddie K Dickinson      18        Son
Robert M Dickinson   16        Son
Indie A Dickinson       14        Daughter
 
Gravitt Family            (9)
Young O. Gravit         44        Head (Young Gravitt probably is the same as Lige Gravitt)
Elizar Gravit               30        Wife
Maggie Gravit             15        Daughter
William Gravit            13        Son
Cleavland Gravit         11        Son
Elizzie Gravit              9          Daughter
Ernist Gravit               6          Son
May Gravit                  5          Daughter
Odis Gravit                 2          Son
 
Holland Family           (4)
W D Holland              45        Head
Jane Holland               41        Wife
Tilmon Holland          16        Son
Claud Holland             12        Son
 
Reed Family                (6)
Willie Reed                 27        Head
Nannie Reed               22        Wife
Winnie C Reed           5          Daughter
Jullia A Reed              4          Daughter
Lucy M Reed              2          Daughter
Montine S Reed          1/12     Daughter
 
Roper Family              (6)
John B Roper              41        Head
Mary J Roper             37        Wife
Charley E Roper         17        Son
Earnest F Roper          14        Son
Leila B Roper             10        Daughter
Reesie J Roper                        6          Daughter
 
Shockley Family         (7)
Quilla M Shockley      48        Head (Aquilla M. Shockley apparently is Fels Shockley)
Callie Shockley           37        Wife
Emory S Shockley      19        Son
Julia Shockley             16        Daughter
John Shockley             11        Son
Pearl Shockley            9          Daughter
Rada Shockley            6          Daughter
 
J. Shockley Family     (5)
Joseph D Shockley      23        Head
Maggie V Shockley    21        Wife
Lizzie J Shockley        4          Daughter
Nancy L Shockley      3          Daughter
Laura C Shockley       6/12     Daughter
 
Thomas Family           (9)
James Thomas             47        Head (James Moody Thomas may be J. M. Thomas)[iv]
Elizibeth Thomas        45        Wife
Thomas Thomas          20        Son
Beckie Thomas           18        Daughter
Caroline Thomas         14        Daughter
Randoph Thomas        12        Son
Sallie L Thomas          6          Daughter
Marie Thomas             4          Daughter
Junie Thomas              3          Daughter

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[i] Lem Holland probably should be Dock (W. D.) Holland. Dock Holland moved to Rusk County, but Lem apparently never did. When Lem died in 1938, Dock said he had not seen him in 37 years. Also Eli Strickland and John Wilson seem to have stayed in Hall County rather than come to Texas. Without checking land and tax rolls, it is hard to know for sure. Lem, Eli, and John never show up in the Texas census. Some could have purchased land, but then backed out of moving here. “— Roper” is apparently John Butler Roper, who moved to Rusk County, then later to Wheeler County. His first wife is buried in the Old Henderson City Cemetery. Their son Ernest Franklin Roper stayed in the area.
[ii] The intended meaning is probably that they lived only in that one location since moving to Henderson. The 1910 Rusk County census shows them living on the Henderson & Jacksonville road (listed between N. P. Newton and Dock’s son S. T. Holland). Dock and Mary Jane lived on “West Street” in Henderson in the 1920 census.
[iii] Henderson Daily News, Thursday, January 8, 1942, p. 12.
[iv] If so, he returned to Georgia.