H. Windham Dies
H. (Tod) Windham died at his home at Tecumseh last Sunday at 4 p. m., after illness of over a year, and was buried in the Tecumseh Cemetery Monday, December 5, 1927 by the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. of which he was a charter member.
The religious services were conducted by Rev. T. H. Davis, old pioneer Methodist Minister, assisted by Rev. Pearson. A large number of old pioneers and their descendents were present at the funeral.
H. Windham was a son of the late Dr. J. D. Windham, who with his wife, is buried at Tecumseh, near where he rests.
H. Windham was born in Nacogdoches County, Texas, April 17, 1851; moved to Brown County with his parents in 1865; came to Callahan County, in charge of his father's cattle in the fall of 1875. Some years later he married Miss Lee Connell, sister of Mrs. J. F. Barton, of Tecumseh. He is survived by his wife, and the following children: sons, Eli and Tom, of California; Willis, Lawn; Forrest, Grover and Hilery, of Tecumseh. Daughters: Mrs. Ada Thompson of Silver Valley; Mrs. Eula Pressler, Eastland and Mrs. Myrtle McIntyre, of Lawn. Also survived by two sisters, Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland, Baird, and one brother, Tom Windham, of Oplin.
I have known Tod Windham since he was a boy, nearly 60 years. He was a good boy and a good man; honest conscientious and no hypocracy about him. He was a Master Mason and if I am not mistaken, he was a charter member of the Belle Plaine Lodge, now Baird Lodge, and later a charter member of the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. Tod Windham was honored and respected by his neighbors while living, who honored him in death, by attending his funeral on one of the coldest days up to Monday we have had this fall. Relatives and friends were there from Brown County, Taylor, Callahan, Eastland, and Culberson Counties. Tom Windham, a nephew and family from Brown County and a niece, Frs. Fanny Price, of Culberson County; Leve Windham, nephew, of Lawn; Sam Gilliland, of Coleman, friend, that clerked in the Windham store 43 years ago. Following is a list of the old neighbors: G. O. Creswill, Tom Clark and son, Dan Clark, Newt Ferguson and Jake Rathmell, of Abilene, formerly lived near Tecumseh, except Mr. Rathomell, who lived at Coleman. All children, except two in California were at the funeral.
H. Windham served as County Commissioner of the Tecumseh-Belle Plain Precinct for six years, and served as Justice of the Peace for several years before this death.
I wish I could name all the old friends that attended the funeral, but that is impossible. Among those from Baird, were: Dr. R. G. Powell, T. E. Powell, Judge Clyde White, W. J. Evans, W. S. Melton, J. F. Dyer and son, Col. Dyer, Judge B. L. Russell, Judge Otis Bowyer, Dr. V. E. Hill, Mesdames: M. J. Gilliland, Cliff Hill, Jasper McCoy, Brown Seay, Mr. and Mrs. John Asbury, Judge Victor B. Gilbert, J. C. Barringer, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. McWhorter, Wylie Lambert, Robert Estes, Lem Lambert, Miss Jeffe Lambert, W. E. Gilliland, Richard and Archie Price, Mrs. Larmer Henry and Mr. and Mrs. Wade Harding., Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland of Baird, only sisters of the deceased living, were not able to attend the funeral, owing to illness. I may have missed some names from Baird, and other places, but if so it is unintentional. I wish I could mention the names of all my old friends of forty years ago, that lived at Tecumseh, but my forty years of experience as a newspaper man has not reached the point where I can name so many from memory, and I will not attempt it for fear I may leave out some of them.
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WINDHAM, H.
H. Windham is a native Texan, born in Nacogdoches, April 17, 1851, when Eastern Texas was comparatively unsettled and the western portion of the State a mere wilderness - the hunting grounds of savage tribes. J. D. Windham, his father, was of Irish extraction, and was born in Alabama, in 1816: moving to Texas in 1839, after a few years residence in Mississippi, where his first wife had died. He married again after reaching Texas, his second wife being a Miss Francis Monteith. J. D. Windham had one son by his first marriage, J. L., and the second was blessed with nine children: S. R.; J. E., deceased; Cal.; Mary, deceased; H., whose biography is here given; Willis; E. J.; Dicie, and Tom. The three eldest sons served in the Confederate army during the war; first, with Sibley, in the New Mexican campaign, and afterwards with Sibley's successor, the lamented Tom Green.
H. Windham's boyhood days were passed on his father's farm in Angelina County, where the family had moved from Nacogdoches. In 1865 a second removal was made, this time to the westward, a location being made in Brown County, where the elder Mr. Windham resided for nine years, thence moving to Callahan County, where he now lives. He was a physician as well as a farmer, and in his dual occupations has won a well deserved prominency. During the long years of the war, H. Windham assisted his brothers in directing the work of the slaves on the little plantation, but after the surrender, he went with his father to Western Texas, and turned his entire attention to the cattle business. In 1874 he opened a ranch in Callahan County, conducting it in the way that was universally followed in these good old days before the introduction of wire fences and close pasturage. Then the greatest drawback to the success of the cattle business lay in the ceaseless depredations of Indians upon the ranchmen and their defenseless herds. In the vicinity of H. Windham's ranch, the Comanches made themselves particularly troublesome, and he suffered, with his neighbors, from their thievishness.
In 1866, while the family were living in Brown County, the Indians came to the ranch and drove away every horse on the place, with the exception of a blind animal not worth taking. The raid was made in broad daylight, and some of the horses taken were within fifty yards of the house. Two years later this wholesale theft was repeated, and again but one horse was left behind by the marauders. Several times afterwards horses were stolen from the ranch; and on one occasion the Indians stole the clothing that had been left hanging on the line at night to dry, and would have taken all the horses from the lot, but the barking of the dogs drove them away. At another time, all the horses on a neighboring ranch were stolen. When the theft was discovered, the owner of the horses pursued, with a number of his friends-eight men in all, and among them, Mr. Windham. The chase lasted ten or twelve days, and the Indians were so close pressed that they were compelled to abandon the horses in order to make their escape.
Danger from Indian bands was always imminent, and on different occasions the ranchmen attempted to organize for defence, but it was always found that those most willing to talk were the least eager to act when the time for action came. The home of the Williams' family, not far from Windham's, was attacked by Indians, Mrs. Williams killed and her infant burned to death, while another child was carried away a captive. The news of the tragedy soon spread, and the neighbors got together, reaching the scene of the tragedy before daylight, and taking the trail as soon as they could see. Two of their most experienced trailers were put in the lead and the remainder of the party followed on in blind reliance on their skill. All traces of the Indians were lost within five or six miles, but the men intrusted with following the tracks would not admit themselves in error, keeping on, in hopes of striking the trail once more, for several miles farther. Meanwhile, some of the men decided to return and assist to bury the dead; but the others pressed on for several days in a vain hope of coming up with the savages and securing revenge for their cowardly act. As the search proved fruitless, a return to the settlements was made, and it was decided to start again at the next "moon," when the chances would be better. The Indians were accustomed to make their raids at the light stage of the moon, and the settlers hoped, by guarding the main passways, or points that they generally passed on their raids, to intercept and surprise them before they could reach and pillage any of the outlying ranches. Captain Gholson was the leader of the party, of which Mr. Windham was a member. Several days were spent in watching for the enemy, but they did not appear, and it was generally decided that there would be no raid that "moon.'' Accordingly it was decided that the members of the party should try their skill at mustang hunting before disbanding, and in this they were successful. A number of mustangs were captured, and the hunters returned to Gholson's ranch where they separated. That night the main party of settlers camped a few miles away from Gholson's ranch, which was visited by the Indians before morning and a number of horses stolen. The savages carried their booty away in safety, for though they were pursued and sighted, the horses of the white men were too fatigued to overtake them.
In addition to Indian troubles, the cattlemen had to contend, in the years from '69 to '73, with white thieves, who would buy up an old brand, establish a ranch, and claim everything they could round up. As cattle often strayed 200 miles from their owners' ranch, cattlemen lost heavily in this way. However, Mr. Windham's herd increased in spite of all drawbacks, and in 1884 his holdings had increased to about 6,000 head. That year H. Windham established a ranch in Presidio County, on the Rio Grande; but the cattle held at this place were sold in 1888. A pasture was leased near Tulsa, I. T., in 1892, in which some 11,000 cattle were handled, 8,000 of them belonging to other parties. The following year a pasture was secured near Muscogee, and this was retained until 1894. During these later years Mr. Windham has been connected in business with his brother, Tom; and, in the Indian Territory, a portion of the time, with D. L. Middleton. The latter had an interest in the cattle held in the Tulsa pasture. In '93, 6,500 head were handled in the Muscogee pasture, only 900 of which belonged to the Windham Brothers; and the following year there were pastured 1,100 head for Middleton, 1,300 for Windham, and 8,000 for other parties.
Mr. Windham was married September 28, 1880, to Miss Leonora Connell, the daughter of J. G. Connell, who is now a resident of Lincoln County, N. M. They are the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, as follows: J. E., Willis, Tom, Forest, S. G., Ada, Ula, and Annie Myrtle. Two of Mr. Windham's sisters are married and living in Baird, Texas, the wives of J. W. Jones and W. E. Gilliland, both prominent citizens. Mr. Windham, himself, stands high in the community in which he resides and is widely and favorably known throughout Western Texas. He has never been a candidate for political preferment, a quiet life suiting him better than one filled with party strife and jealousy. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Chapter. He first joined the Masonic society at Brownwood. Mr. Windham and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church at Tecumseh, Callahan County, where they have made themselves a pleasant home, and, despite the fact that their location is well out towards the frontier and quite a distance from a railroad or large town, have gathered about them all that aids to beautify a home and render life enjoyable. Mr. Windham has unlimited faith in the future of the cattle business, and his operations in the years to come will, no doubt, be as extensive and prove as profitable as those of the past. His energy and push has been tested and proven, and so long as those traits of character are employed in the furtherance of cattle transactions, Mr. Windham may safely anticipate a continuance of past success. (Source: Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas by James Cox, Published by Woodward & Tiernan Printing Co, St Louis, 1895 - )
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
H. (Tod) Windham died at his home at Tecumseh last Sunday at 4 p. m., after illness of over a year, and was buried in the Tecumseh Cemetery Monday, December 5, 1927 by the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. of which he was a charter member.
The religious services were conducted by Rev. T. H. Davis, old pioneer Methodist Minister, assisted by Rev. Pearson. A large number of old pioneers and their descendents were present at the funeral.
H. Windham was a son of the late Dr. J. D. Windham, who with his wife, is buried at Tecumseh, near where he rests.
H. Windham was born in Nacogdoches County, Texas, April 17, 1851; moved to Brown County with his parents in 1865; came to Callahan County, in charge of his father's cattle in the fall of 1875. Some years later he married Miss Lee Connell, sister of Mrs. J. F. Barton, of Tecumseh. He is survived by his wife, and the following children: sons, Eli and Tom, of California; Willis, Lawn; Forrest, Grover and Hilery, of Tecumseh. Daughters: Mrs. Ada Thompson of Silver Valley; Mrs. Eula Pressler, Eastland and Mrs. Myrtle McIntyre, of Lawn. Also survived by two sisters, Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland, Baird, and one brother, Tom Windham, of Oplin.
I have known Tod Windham since he was a boy, nearly 60 years. He was a good boy and a good man; honest conscientious and no hypocracy about him. He was a Master Mason and if I am not mistaken, he was a charter member of the Belle Plaine Lodge, now Baird Lodge, and later a charter member of the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. Tod Windham was honored and respected by his neighbors while living, who honored him in death, by attending his funeral on one of the coldest days up to Monday we have had this fall. Relatives and friends were there from Brown County, Taylor, Callahan, Eastland, and Culberson Counties. Tom Windham, a nephew and family from Brown County and a niece, Frs. Fanny Price, of Culberson County; Leve Windham, nephew, of Lawn; Sam Gilliland, of Coleman, friend, that clerked in the Windham store 43 years ago. Following is a list of the old neighbors: G. O. Creswill, Tom Clark and son, Dan Clark, Newt Ferguson and Jake Rathmell, of Abilene, formerly lived near Tecumseh, except Mr. Rathomell, who lived at Coleman. All children, except two in California were at the funeral.
H. Windham served as County Commissioner of the Tecumseh-Belle Plain Precinct for six years, and served as Justice of the Peace for several years before this death.
I wish I could name all the old friends that attended the funeral, but that is impossible. Among those from Baird, were: Dr. R. G. Powell, T. E. Powell, Judge Clyde White, W. J. Evans, W. S. Melton, J. F. Dyer and son, Col. Dyer, Judge B. L. Russell, Judge Otis Bowyer, Dr. V. E. Hill, Mesdames: M. J. Gilliland, Cliff Hill, Jasper McCoy, Brown Seay, Mr. and Mrs. John Asbury, Judge Victor B. Gilbert, J. C. Barringer, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. McWhorter, Wylie Lambert, Robert Estes, Lem Lambert, Miss Jeffe Lambert, W. E. Gilliland, Richard and Archie Price, Mrs. Larmer Henry and Mr. and Mrs. Wade Harding., Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland of Baird, only sisters of the deceased living, were not able to attend the funeral, owing to illness. I may have missed some names from Baird, and other places, but if so it is unintentional. I wish I could mention the names of all my old friends of forty years ago, that lived at Tecumseh, but my forty years of experience as a newspaper man has not reached the point where I can name so many from memory, and I will not attempt it for fear I may leave out some of them.
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WINDHAM, H.
H. Windham is a native Texan, born in Nacogdoches, April 17, 1851, when Eastern Texas was comparatively unsettled and the western portion of the State a mere wilderness - the hunting grounds of savage tribes. J. D. Windham, his father, was of Irish extraction, and was born in Alabama, in 1816: moving to Texas in 1839, after a few years residence in Mississippi, where his first wife had died. He married again after reaching Texas, his second wife being a Miss Francis Monteith. J. D. Windham had one son by his first marriage, J. L., and the second was blessed with nine children: S. R.; J. E., deceased; Cal.; Mary, deceased; H., whose biography is here given; Willis; E. J.; Dicie, and Tom. The three eldest sons served in the Confederate army during the war; first, with Sibley, in the New Mexican campaign, and afterwards with Sibley's successor, the lamented Tom Green.
H. Windham's boyhood days were passed on his father's farm in Angelina County, where the family had moved from Nacogdoches. In 1865 a second removal was made, this time to the westward, a location being made in Brown County, where the elder Mr. Windham resided for nine years, thence moving to Callahan County, where he now lives. He was a physician as well as a farmer, and in his dual occupations has won a well deserved prominency. During the long years of the war, H. Windham assisted his brothers in directing the work of the slaves on the little plantation, but after the surrender, he went with his father to Western Texas, and turned his entire attention to the cattle business. In 1874 he opened a ranch in Callahan County, conducting it in the way that was universally followed in these good old days before the introduction of wire fences and close pasturage. Then the greatest drawback to the success of the cattle business lay in the ceaseless depredations of Indians upon the ranchmen and their defenseless herds. In the vicinity of H. Windham's ranch, the Comanches made themselves particularly troublesome, and he suffered, with his neighbors, from their thievishness.
In 1866, while the family were living in Brown County, the Indians came to the ranch and drove away every horse on the place, with the exception of a blind animal not worth taking. The raid was made in broad daylight, and some of the horses taken were within fifty yards of the house. Two years later this wholesale theft was repeated, and again but one horse was left behind by the marauders. Several times afterwards horses were stolen from the ranch; and on one occasion the Indians stole the clothing that had been left hanging on the line at night to dry, and would have taken all the horses from the lot, but the barking of the dogs drove them away. At another time, all the horses on a neighboring ranch were stolen. When the theft was discovered, the owner of the horses pursued, with a number of his friends-eight men in all, and among them, Mr. Windham. The chase lasted ten or twelve days, and the Indians were so close pressed that they were compelled to abandon the horses in order to make their escape.
Danger from Indian bands was always imminent, and on different occasions the ranchmen attempted to organize for defence, but it was always found that those most willing to talk were the least eager to act when the time for action came. The home of the Williams' family, not far from Windham's, was attacked by Indians, Mrs. Williams killed and her infant burned to death, while another child was carried away a captive. The news of the tragedy soon spread, and the neighbors got together, reaching the scene of the tragedy before daylight, and taking the trail as soon as they could see. Two of their most experienced trailers were put in the lead and the remainder of the party followed on in blind reliance on their skill. All traces of the Indians were lost within five or six miles, but the men intrusted with following the tracks would not admit themselves in error, keeping on, in hopes of striking the trail once more, for several miles farther. Meanwhile, some of the men decided to return and assist to bury the dead; but the others pressed on for several days in a vain hope of coming up with the savages and securing revenge for their cowardly act. As the search proved fruitless, a return to the settlements was made, and it was decided to start again at the next "moon," when the chances would be better. The Indians were accustomed to make their raids at the light stage of the moon, and the settlers hoped, by guarding the main passways, or points that they generally passed on their raids, to intercept and surprise them before they could reach and pillage any of the outlying ranches. Captain Gholson was the leader of the party, of which Mr. Windham was a member. Several days were spent in watching for the enemy, but they did not appear, and it was generally decided that there would be no raid that "moon.'' Accordingly it was decided that the members of the party should try their skill at mustang hunting before disbanding, and in this they were successful. A number of mustangs were captured, and the hunters returned to Gholson's ranch where they separated. That night the main party of settlers camped a few miles away from Gholson's ranch, which was visited by the Indians before morning and a number of horses stolen. The savages carried their booty away in safety, for though they were pursued and sighted, the horses of the white men were too fatigued to overtake them.
In addition to Indian troubles, the cattlemen had to contend, in the years from '69 to '73, with white thieves, who would buy up an old brand, establish a ranch, and claim everything they could round up. As cattle often strayed 200 miles from their owners' ranch, cattlemen lost heavily in this way. However, Mr. Windham's herd increased in spite of all drawbacks, and in 1884 his holdings had increased to about 6,000 head. That year H. Windham established a ranch in Presidio County, on the Rio Grande; but the cattle held at this place were sold in 1888. A pasture was leased near Tulsa, I. T., in 1892, in which some 11,000 cattle were handled, 8,000 of them belonging to other parties. The following year a pasture was secured near Muscogee, and this was retained until 1894. During these later years Mr. Windham has been connected in business with his brother, Tom; and, in the Indian Territory, a portion of the time, with D. L. Middleton. The latter had an interest in the cattle held in the Tulsa pasture. In '93, 6,500 head were handled in the Muscogee pasture, only 900 of which belonged to the Windham Brothers; and the following year there were pastured 1,100 head for Middleton, 1,300 for Windham, and 8,000 for other parties.
Mr. Windham was married September 28, 1880, to Miss Leonora Connell, the daughter of J. G. Connell, who is now a resident of Lincoln County, N. M. They are the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, as follows: J. E., Willis, Tom, Forest, S. G., Ada, Ula, and Annie Myrtle. Two of Mr. Windham's sisters are married and living in Baird, Texas, the wives of J. W. Jones and W. E. Gilliland, both prominent citizens. Mr. Windham, himself, stands high in the community in which he resides and is widely and favorably known throughout Western Texas. He has never been a candidate for political preferment, a quiet life suiting him better than one filled with party strife and jealousy. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Chapter. He first joined the Masonic society at Brownwood. Mr. Windham and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church at Tecumseh, Callahan County, where they have made themselves a pleasant home, and, despite the fact that their location is well out towards the frontier and quite a distance from a railroad or large town, have gathered about them all that aids to beautify a home and render life enjoyable. Mr. Windham has unlimited faith in the future of the cattle business, and his operations in the years to come will, no doubt, be as extensive and prove as profitable as those of the past. His energy and push has been tested and proven, and so long as those traits of character are employed in the furtherance of cattle transactions, Mr. Windham may safely anticipate a continuance of past success. (Source: Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas by James Cox, Published by Woodward & Tiernan Printing Co, St Louis, 1895 - )
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
H. Windham Dies
H. (Tod) Windham died at his home at Tecumseh last Sunday at 4 p. m., after illness of over a year, and was buried in the Tecumseh Cemetery Monday, December 5, 1927 by the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. of which he was a charter member.
The religious services were conducted by Rev. T. H. Davis, old pioneer Methodist Minister, assisted by Rev. Pearson. A large number of old pioneers and their descendents were present at the funeral.
H. Windham was a son of the late Dr. J. D. Windham, who with his wife, is buried at Tecumseh, near where he rests.
H. Windham was born in Nacogdoches County, Texas, April 17, 1851; moved to Brown County with his parents in 1865; came to Callahan County, in charge of his father's cattle in the fall of 1875. Some years later he married Miss Lee Connell, sister of Mrs. J. F. Barton, of Tecumseh. He is survived by his wife, and the following children: sons, Eli and Tom, of California; Willis, Lawn; Forrest, Grover and Hilery, of Tecumseh. Daughters: Mrs. Ada Thompson of Silver Valley; Mrs. Eula Pressler, Eastland and Mrs. Myrtle McIntyre, of Lawn. Also survived by two sisters, Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland, Baird, and one brother, Tom Windham, of Oplin.
I have known Tod Windham since he was a boy, nearly 60 years. He was a good boy and a good man; honest conscientious and no hypocracy about him. He was a Master Mason and if I am not mistaken, he was a charter member of the Belle Plaine Lodge, now Baird Lodge, and later a charter member of the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. Tod Windham was honored and respected by his neighbors while living, who honored him in death, by attending his funeral on one of the coldest days up to Monday we have had this fall. Relatives and friends were there from Brown County, Taylor, Callahan, Eastland, and Culberson Counties. Tom Windham, a nephew and family from Brown County and a niece, Frs. Fanny Price, of Culberson County; Leve Windham, nephew, of Lawn; Sam Gilliland, of Coleman, friend, that clerked in the Windham store 43 years ago. Following is a list of the old neighbors: G. O. Creswill, Tom Clark and son, Dan Clark, Newt Ferguson and Jake Rathmell, of Abilene, formerly lived near Tecumseh, except Mr. Rathomell, who lived at Coleman. All children, except two in California were at the funeral.
H. Windham served as County Commissioner of the Tecumseh-Belle Plain Precinct for six years, and served as Justice of the Peace for several years before this death.
I wish I could name all the old friends that attended the funeral, but that is impossible. Among those from Baird, were: Dr. R. G. Powell, T. E. Powell, Judge Clyde White, W. J. Evans, W. S. Melton, J. F. Dyer and son, Col. Dyer, Judge B. L. Russell, Judge Otis Bowyer, Dr. V. E. Hill, Mesdames: M. J. Gilliland, Cliff Hill, Jasper McCoy, Brown Seay, Mr. and Mrs. John Asbury, Judge Victor B. Gilbert, J. C. Barringer, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. McWhorter, Wylie Lambert, Robert Estes, Lem Lambert, Miss Jeffe Lambert, W. E. Gilliland, Richard and Archie Price, Mrs. Larmer Henry and Mr. and Mrs. Wade Harding., Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland of Baird, only sisters of the deceased living, were not able to attend the funeral, owing to illness. I may have missed some names from Baird, and other places, but if so it is unintentional. I wish I could mention the names of all my old friends of forty years ago, that lived at Tecumseh, but my forty years of experience as a newspaper man has not reached the point where I can name so many from memory, and I will not attempt it for fear I may leave out some of them.
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WINDHAM, H.
H. Windham is a native Texan, born in Nacogdoches, April 17, 1851, when Eastern Texas was comparatively unsettled and the western portion of the State a mere wilderness - the hunting grounds of savage tribes. J. D. Windham, his father, was of Irish extraction, and was born in Alabama, in 1816: moving to Texas in 1839, after a few years residence in Mississippi, where his first wife had died. He married again after reaching Texas, his second wife being a Miss Francis Monteith. J. D. Windham had one son by his first marriage, J. L., and the second was blessed with nine children: S. R.; J. E., deceased; Cal.; Mary, deceased; H., whose biography is here given; Willis; E. J.; Dicie, and Tom. The three eldest sons served in the Confederate army during the war; first, with Sibley, in the New Mexican campaign, and afterwards with Sibley's successor, the lamented Tom Green.
H. Windham's boyhood days were passed on his father's farm in Angelina County, where the family had moved from Nacogdoches. In 1865 a second removal was made, this time to the westward, a location being made in Brown County, where the elder Mr. Windham resided for nine years, thence moving to Callahan County, where he now lives. He was a physician as well as a farmer, and in his dual occupations has won a well deserved prominency. During the long years of the war, H. Windham assisted his brothers in directing the work of the slaves on the little plantation, but after the surrender, he went with his father to Western Texas, and turned his entire attention to the cattle business. In 1874 he opened a ranch in Callahan County, conducting it in the way that was universally followed in these good old days before the introduction of wire fences and close pasturage. Then the greatest drawback to the success of the cattle business lay in the ceaseless depredations of Indians upon the ranchmen and their defenseless herds. In the vicinity of H. Windham's ranch, the Comanches made themselves particularly troublesome, and he suffered, with his neighbors, from their thievishness.
In 1866, while the family were living in Brown County, the Indians came to the ranch and drove away every horse on the place, with the exception of a blind animal not worth taking. The raid was made in broad daylight, and some of the horses taken were within fifty yards of the house. Two years later this wholesale theft was repeated, and again but one horse was left behind by the marauders. Several times afterwards horses were stolen from the ranch; and on one occasion the Indians stole the clothing that had been left hanging on the line at night to dry, and would have taken all the horses from the lot, but the barking of the dogs drove them away. At another time, all the horses on a neighboring ranch were stolen. When the theft was discovered, the owner of the horses pursued, with a number of his friends-eight men in all, and among them, Mr. Windham. The chase lasted ten or twelve days, and the Indians were so close pressed that they were compelled to abandon the horses in order to make their escape.
Danger from Indian bands was always imminent, and on different occasions the ranchmen attempted to organize for defence, but it was always found that those most willing to talk were the least eager to act when the time for action came. The home of the Williams' family, not far from Windham's, was attacked by Indians, Mrs. Williams killed and her infant burned to death, while another child was carried away a captive. The news of the tragedy soon spread, and the neighbors got together, reaching the scene of the tragedy before daylight, and taking the trail as soon as they could see. Two of their most experienced trailers were put in the lead and the remainder of the party followed on in blind reliance on their skill. All traces of the Indians were lost within five or six miles, but the men intrusted with following the tracks would not admit themselves in error, keeping on, in hopes of striking the trail once more, for several miles farther. Meanwhile, some of the men decided to return and assist to bury the dead; but the others pressed on for several days in a vain hope of coming up with the savages and securing revenge for their cowardly act. As the search proved fruitless, a return to the settlements was made, and it was decided to start again at the next "moon," when the chances would be better. The Indians were accustomed to make their raids at the light stage of the moon, and the settlers hoped, by guarding the main passways, or points that they generally passed on their raids, to intercept and surprise them before they could reach and pillage any of the outlying ranches. Captain Gholson was the leader of the party, of which Mr. Windham was a member. Several days were spent in watching for the enemy, but they did not appear, and it was generally decided that there would be no raid that "moon.'' Accordingly it was decided that the members of the party should try their skill at mustang hunting before disbanding, and in this they were successful. A number of mustangs were captured, and the hunters returned to Gholson's ranch where they separated. That night the main party of settlers camped a few miles away from Gholson's ranch, which was visited by the Indians before morning and a number of horses stolen. The savages carried their booty away in safety, for though they were pursued and sighted, the horses of the white men were too fatigued to overtake them.
In addition to Indian troubles, the cattlemen had to contend, in the years from '69 to '73, with white thieves, who would buy up an old brand, establish a ranch, and claim everything they could round up. As cattle often strayed 200 miles from their owners' ranch, cattlemen lost heavily in this way. However, Mr. Windham's herd increased in spite of all drawbacks, and in 1884 his holdings had increased to about 6,000 head. That year H. Windham established a ranch in Presidio County, on the Rio Grande; but the cattle held at this place were sold in 1888. A pasture was leased near Tulsa, I. T., in 1892, in which some 11,000 cattle were handled, 8,000 of them belonging to other parties. The following year a pasture was secured near Muscogee, and this was retained until 1894. During these later years Mr. Windham has been connected in business with his brother, Tom; and, in the Indian Territory, a portion of the time, with D. L. Middleton. The latter had an interest in the cattle held in the Tulsa pasture. In '93, 6,500 head were handled in the Muscogee pasture, only 900 of which belonged to the Windham Brothers; and the following year there were pastured 1,100 head for Middleton, 1,300 for Windham, and 8,000 for other parties.
Mr. Windham was married September 28, 1880, to Miss Leonora Connell, the daughter of J. G. Connell, who is now a resident of Lincoln County, N. M. They are the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, as follows: J. E., Willis, Tom, Forest, S. G., Ada, Ula, and Annie Myrtle. Two of Mr. Windham's sisters are married and living in Baird, Texas, the wives of J. W. Jones and W. E. Gilliland, both prominent citizens. Mr. Windham, himself, stands high in the community in which he resides and is widely and favorably known throughout Western Texas. He has never been a candidate for political preferment, a quiet life suiting him better than one filled with party strife and jealousy. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Chapter. He first joined the Masonic society at Brownwood. Mr. Windham and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church at Tecumseh, Callahan County, where they have made themselves a pleasant home, and, despite the fact that their location is well out towards the frontier and quite a distance from a railroad or large town, have gathered about them all that aids to beautify a home and render life enjoyable. Mr. Windham has unlimited faith in the future of the cattle business, and his operations in the years to come will, no doubt, be as extensive and prove as profitable as those of the past. His energy and push has been tested and proven, and so long as those traits of character are employed in the furtherance of cattle transactions, Mr. Windham may safely anticipate a continuance of past success. (Source: Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas by James Cox, Published by Woodward & Tiernan Printing Co, St Louis, 1895 - )
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
H. (Tod) Windham died at his home at Tecumseh last Sunday at 4 p. m., after illness of over a year, and was buried in the Tecumseh Cemetery Monday, December 5, 1927 by the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. of which he was a charter member.
The religious services were conducted by Rev. T. H. Davis, old pioneer Methodist Minister, assisted by Rev. Pearson. A large number of old pioneers and their descendents were present at the funeral.
H. Windham was a son of the late Dr. J. D. Windham, who with his wife, is buried at Tecumseh, near where he rests.
H. Windham was born in Nacogdoches County, Texas, April 17, 1851; moved to Brown County with his parents in 1865; came to Callahan County, in charge of his father's cattle in the fall of 1875. Some years later he married Miss Lee Connell, sister of Mrs. J. F. Barton, of Tecumseh. He is survived by his wife, and the following children: sons, Eli and Tom, of California; Willis, Lawn; Forrest, Grover and Hilery, of Tecumseh. Daughters: Mrs. Ada Thompson of Silver Valley; Mrs. Eula Pressler, Eastland and Mrs. Myrtle McIntyre, of Lawn. Also survived by two sisters, Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland, Baird, and one brother, Tom Windham, of Oplin.
I have known Tod Windham since he was a boy, nearly 60 years. He was a good boy and a good man; honest conscientious and no hypocracy about him. He was a Master Mason and if I am not mistaken, he was a charter member of the Belle Plaine Lodge, now Baird Lodge, and later a charter member of the Tecumseh Lodge A. F. & A. M. Tod Windham was honored and respected by his neighbors while living, who honored him in death, by attending his funeral on one of the coldest days up to Monday we have had this fall. Relatives and friends were there from Brown County, Taylor, Callahan, Eastland, and Culberson Counties. Tom Windham, a nephew and family from Brown County and a niece, Frs. Fanny Price, of Culberson County; Leve Windham, nephew, of Lawn; Sam Gilliland, of Coleman, friend, that clerked in the Windham store 43 years ago. Following is a list of the old neighbors: G. O. Creswill, Tom Clark and son, Dan Clark, Newt Ferguson and Jake Rathmell, of Abilene, formerly lived near Tecumseh, except Mr. Rathomell, who lived at Coleman. All children, except two in California were at the funeral.
H. Windham served as County Commissioner of the Tecumseh-Belle Plain Precinct for six years, and served as Justice of the Peace for several years before this death.
I wish I could name all the old friends that attended the funeral, but that is impossible. Among those from Baird, were: Dr. R. G. Powell, T. E. Powell, Judge Clyde White, W. J. Evans, W. S. Melton, J. F. Dyer and son, Col. Dyer, Judge B. L. Russell, Judge Otis Bowyer, Dr. V. E. Hill, Mesdames: M. J. Gilliland, Cliff Hill, Jasper McCoy, Brown Seay, Mr. and Mrs. John Asbury, Judge Victor B. Gilbert, J. C. Barringer, Mr. and Mrs. H. A. McWhorter, Wylie Lambert, Robert Estes, Lem Lambert, Miss Jeffe Lambert, W. E. Gilliland, Richard and Archie Price, Mrs. Larmer Henry and Mr. and Mrs. Wade Harding., Mrs. J. W. Jones and Mrs. W. E. Gilliland of Baird, only sisters of the deceased living, were not able to attend the funeral, owing to illness. I may have missed some names from Baird, and other places, but if so it is unintentional. I wish I could mention the names of all my old friends of forty years ago, that lived at Tecumseh, but my forty years of experience as a newspaper man has not reached the point where I can name so many from memory, and I will not attempt it for fear I may leave out some of them.
---
WINDHAM, H.
H. Windham is a native Texan, born in Nacogdoches, April 17, 1851, when Eastern Texas was comparatively unsettled and the western portion of the State a mere wilderness - the hunting grounds of savage tribes. J. D. Windham, his father, was of Irish extraction, and was born in Alabama, in 1816: moving to Texas in 1839, after a few years residence in Mississippi, where his first wife had died. He married again after reaching Texas, his second wife being a Miss Francis Monteith. J. D. Windham had one son by his first marriage, J. L., and the second was blessed with nine children: S. R.; J. E., deceased; Cal.; Mary, deceased; H., whose biography is here given; Willis; E. J.; Dicie, and Tom. The three eldest sons served in the Confederate army during the war; first, with Sibley, in the New Mexican campaign, and afterwards with Sibley's successor, the lamented Tom Green.
H. Windham's boyhood days were passed on his father's farm in Angelina County, where the family had moved from Nacogdoches. In 1865 a second removal was made, this time to the westward, a location being made in Brown County, where the elder Mr. Windham resided for nine years, thence moving to Callahan County, where he now lives. He was a physician as well as a farmer, and in his dual occupations has won a well deserved prominency. During the long years of the war, H. Windham assisted his brothers in directing the work of the slaves on the little plantation, but after the surrender, he went with his father to Western Texas, and turned his entire attention to the cattle business. In 1874 he opened a ranch in Callahan County, conducting it in the way that was universally followed in these good old days before the introduction of wire fences and close pasturage. Then the greatest drawback to the success of the cattle business lay in the ceaseless depredations of Indians upon the ranchmen and their defenseless herds. In the vicinity of H. Windham's ranch, the Comanches made themselves particularly troublesome, and he suffered, with his neighbors, from their thievishness.
In 1866, while the family were living in Brown County, the Indians came to the ranch and drove away every horse on the place, with the exception of a blind animal not worth taking. The raid was made in broad daylight, and some of the horses taken were within fifty yards of the house. Two years later this wholesale theft was repeated, and again but one horse was left behind by the marauders. Several times afterwards horses were stolen from the ranch; and on one occasion the Indians stole the clothing that had been left hanging on the line at night to dry, and would have taken all the horses from the lot, but the barking of the dogs drove them away. At another time, all the horses on a neighboring ranch were stolen. When the theft was discovered, the owner of the horses pursued, with a number of his friends-eight men in all, and among them, Mr. Windham. The chase lasted ten or twelve days, and the Indians were so close pressed that they were compelled to abandon the horses in order to make their escape.
Danger from Indian bands was always imminent, and on different occasions the ranchmen attempted to organize for defence, but it was always found that those most willing to talk were the least eager to act when the time for action came. The home of the Williams' family, not far from Windham's, was attacked by Indians, Mrs. Williams killed and her infant burned to death, while another child was carried away a captive. The news of the tragedy soon spread, and the neighbors got together, reaching the scene of the tragedy before daylight, and taking the trail as soon as they could see. Two of their most experienced trailers were put in the lead and the remainder of the party followed on in blind reliance on their skill. All traces of the Indians were lost within five or six miles, but the men intrusted with following the tracks would not admit themselves in error, keeping on, in hopes of striking the trail once more, for several miles farther. Meanwhile, some of the men decided to return and assist to bury the dead; but the others pressed on for several days in a vain hope of coming up with the savages and securing revenge for their cowardly act. As the search proved fruitless, a return to the settlements was made, and it was decided to start again at the next "moon," when the chances would be better. The Indians were accustomed to make their raids at the light stage of the moon, and the settlers hoped, by guarding the main passways, or points that they generally passed on their raids, to intercept and surprise them before they could reach and pillage any of the outlying ranches. Captain Gholson was the leader of the party, of which Mr. Windham was a member. Several days were spent in watching for the enemy, but they did not appear, and it was generally decided that there would be no raid that "moon.'' Accordingly it was decided that the members of the party should try their skill at mustang hunting before disbanding, and in this they were successful. A number of mustangs were captured, and the hunters returned to Gholson's ranch where they separated. That night the main party of settlers camped a few miles away from Gholson's ranch, which was visited by the Indians before morning and a number of horses stolen. The savages carried their booty away in safety, for though they were pursued and sighted, the horses of the white men were too fatigued to overtake them.
In addition to Indian troubles, the cattlemen had to contend, in the years from '69 to '73, with white thieves, who would buy up an old brand, establish a ranch, and claim everything they could round up. As cattle often strayed 200 miles from their owners' ranch, cattlemen lost heavily in this way. However, Mr. Windham's herd increased in spite of all drawbacks, and in 1884 his holdings had increased to about 6,000 head. That year H. Windham established a ranch in Presidio County, on the Rio Grande; but the cattle held at this place were sold in 1888. A pasture was leased near Tulsa, I. T., in 1892, in which some 11,000 cattle were handled, 8,000 of them belonging to other parties. The following year a pasture was secured near Muscogee, and this was retained until 1894. During these later years Mr. Windham has been connected in business with his brother, Tom; and, in the Indian Territory, a portion of the time, with D. L. Middleton. The latter had an interest in the cattle held in the Tulsa pasture. In '93, 6,500 head were handled in the Muscogee pasture, only 900 of which belonged to the Windham Brothers; and the following year there were pastured 1,100 head for Middleton, 1,300 for Windham, and 8,000 for other parties.
Mr. Windham was married September 28, 1880, to Miss Leonora Connell, the daughter of J. G. Connell, who is now a resident of Lincoln County, N. M. They are the parents of eight children, all of whom are living, as follows: J. E., Willis, Tom, Forest, S. G., Ada, Ula, and Annie Myrtle. Two of Mr. Windham's sisters are married and living in Baird, Texas, the wives of J. W. Jones and W. E. Gilliland, both prominent citizens. Mr. Windham, himself, stands high in the community in which he resides and is widely and favorably known throughout Western Texas. He has never been a candidate for political preferment, a quiet life suiting him better than one filled with party strife and jealousy. He is a Royal Arch Mason and a member of the Chapter. He first joined the Masonic society at Brownwood. Mr. Windham and wife are members of the Presbyterian Church at Tecumseh, Callahan County, where they have made themselves a pleasant home, and, despite the fact that their location is well out towards the frontier and quite a distance from a railroad or large town, have gathered about them all that aids to beautify a home and render life enjoyable. Mr. Windham has unlimited faith in the future of the cattle business, and his operations in the years to come will, no doubt, be as extensive and prove as profitable as those of the past. His energy and push has been tested and proven, and so long as those traits of character are employed in the furtherance of cattle transactions, Mr. Windham may safely anticipate a continuance of past success. (Source: Historical and Biographical Record of the Cattle Industry and the Cattlemen of Texas by James Cox, Published by Woodward & Tiernan Printing Co, St Louis, 1895 - )
Contributor: Sherry (47010546)
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