1880 census Benton Co., Tennessee Samuel is 12 years old and Louisa is 47. No others are listed.
The family story was that Samuel and his second wife Bell Cunningham drove to a creek in a wagon and were met by a minister and were married in the creek bed.
1880 census Benton Co., Tennessee.
Samuel's nickname"big man" was given to him because of his size and his commanding personality.

Graves and Headstones in Chalk Hill Cemetery in Benton Co., Tennessee.
grave #285 says baby was son of S W. Sarrett and Lousa Ellen Vick born in 1895.
grave # 292 says Nettie I. Sarrett Mar. 29, 1892
Nov. 1, 1894
grave #288 Lynville Jackson Sarrett July 22, 1903 son of S. W. and Ellen Sarrett
grave #287 Ellen Sarrett wife of S. W. Sarrett

Note that Wesley had a son, Linville Jackson Sarrett
by Ellen Vick who died as a 7 month old in 1904. Then in 1913 he had a son by Bell Cunningham, Lyndell Jackson Sarrett, who was stillborn.
Samuel and Ellen had several children in Benton Co., Tennessee. The last one born and died there in 1895. Samuel's family moved to Gatesville, McClennon Co., Texas by July 5, 1897 because their daughter, Gaither Sarrett, was born there. They continued to live there until , at least July 16 1900, because another daughter Ither Sarrett was born there. The family then moved to Davidson, Tillman County, Oklahoma by July 22, 1903 because their son, Jackson Lyndell Sarrett was born and died in Davidson on that date. He is buried in the Davidson cemetery.

When the family came to Davidson, Oklahoma Samuel bought the first of 3 farms. It was Federal land and we have a certificate given to him by the government stating this fact and it is signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. All 3 farms were 160 acres each and costs $1.00 per acre. Later on the Davidson farm was managed by his daughter Ither Sarrett and son-in-law, Oscar Linker. The second farm was located near Frederick, Oklahoma. Later on this farm was managed by his son, Ulous Edward Sarrett. Then Samuel Wesley Sarrett married his second wife Bell Cunningham in February 1905 and bought his third farm in Granfield, Oklahoma.The Big Pasture and three other smaller pastures opened for settlement in 1906. This opening was a radical departure from previous ones in that it was done by sealed bids. Bids were submitted to and opened by officials in Lawton,Oklahoma. With the addition of Big Pasture lands, what would become Tillman County almost doubled in size.

The opening of the Big Pasture brought three more government townsites to the area, Eschiti, Isadore, and Quanah. Eschiti and Kell, an "illegal" town since it wasn't government designated, united to become Grandfield; Isadore and Quanah withered away.

Big Pasture (Grazing Land Reservation No. 1) 1905.The Big Pasture was 488,000 acres (1,975 km2) of prairie land, in what is now southwestern Oklahoma. The land had been reserved for grazing use by the Kiowa, Comanche, and Apache tribes after their reserve was opened for settlement by a lottery conducted during June through August 1901. The tribes, however, leased most of the land out to large ranchers and it became known as Big Pasture. The Big Pasture was maintained for grazing until June 5, 1906, when Congress passed an act (Chapter 2580, 34 Stat. 213) requiring that it be disposed of by allotting 160 acres (0.6 km2), in severalty, to each child born into the tribes after the act of 1900. The remaining land was sold by sealed bid in December 1906 and the proceeds placed in the U.S. Treasurey for the tribes. This was the last large tract of land opened for settlement in Oklahoma Territory.

Problems began when the Wichita Falls and Northwestern Railroad missed Eschiti by two miles and Kell City (named after the railroad’s promoter) sprang up along the railroad's route.

By 1907, Eschiti had an official United States Post Office and Kell City had the railroad. Citizens from both towns were in heated competition for new settlers and businesses moving to the area.

To try and settle the differences, Reverend Andrew J. Tant, a Baptist Minister and homesteader, went into partnership with Frank Kell and offered free lots to businesses if they would relocate to the Tant farm, which would eventually become Grandfield. Since the Tant farm was only about a mile from Kell City, people willingly moved. Free lots were also promised to all churches and schools. Observers at that time wrote they could look through their windows and see lines of houses being moved. According to Mrs. Lawrence Hooks, an early settler, she once cooked breakfast in Eschiti and dinner in Grandfield, without leaving her house.

A committee appealed to the United States Post Office to establish an post office. Assistant Postmaster General Charles P. Grandfield was helpful in granting the request. Consequently, the town was named in his honor. On January 16, 1909, Grandfield citizens voted, almost unanimously, for incorporation, and the post office opened January 21, 1909. In 1910 the population stood at 830.

The town's founders and early residents came from a variety of locations, backgrounds, cultures and religions; the States of Kentucky, Tennessee, Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas were well represented, and a substantial number of newly arrived European immigrants also made their homes in Grandfield.




With the coming of the Katy Railroad, Loveland, Hollister, and Tipton sprouted on the prairie.

About the only objections that the settlers in this rich new land had were that Oklahoma was still a territory, and it was at least a two-day trip to Lawton, the county seat, since this was a part of Comanche County then. These situations were remedied by 1907 statehood and the creation of Tillman County, with Frederick as the county seat.

Seven bustling towns were thriving in the new county: Davidson, Frederick, and Manitou on the Frisco line, Grandfield, Loveland, Hollister, and Tipton on the Katy. Tillman County entered the twentieth century with great expectations!

(First published in The Frederick Press, April 4, 1975

Samuel and Bell moved over to Grandfield and lived in a dugout and tent. He began to bring building material from Davidson, via wagon, a distance of about 25 miles. Just outside Granfield, about 4 miles is Pleasant Mound, the highest point in the county. Samuel used this as a marker to his farm. The farm house and barn was built soon and was the first wood home in the "Big Pasture". It was the hub of the area with people coming here to have their children and nurse the sick. After awhile people began to get their own homes built and move out of tents and dugouts.

In 1927 the family moved to Mineral Wells, Texas Samuel where Samuel spent his time taking the waters at the Crazy Water Hotel.They owned a home in the city. and his family lived on or around the Granfield farm area until his death in 1954. The farms in Davidson and Frederick were sold around 1947-48. He was living in town in 1954 with his 3rd wife. The farm income and use of the house was given to the wife until her death. She died in 1958 and the property was sold by auction in 1959. The farm was sold for $35,000($219/acre. The old farm house had been moved into Grandfield and is still in use today(2014).

In the 1920s Samuel put down $100 for an oil play in Granfield, Tillman Co. ( Helped form an Oil field play in Tillman Co., Oklahoma in " Granfield: Hub of the Big Pasture" Vols. I & II Gen 976.6 Wyatt.)

In 1942, when Mary Ruth Snipes,Samuel's grand daughter was 10 years old, she and her family moved to the Grandfield farm. Mary's father, Jim Snipes always wanted to farm so he went on share crop with his father-in-law and worked the farm until crop failure in 1950. Grain fungus ruined the crop. After that Mary went to college and her mother and father moved to Wichita Falls, Texas. They lived there until moving to Bastrop, Texas in 1980 to be close to family.
In 1927 the Sarrett family had moved to Mineral Wells, Texas. Samuel spent his time taking the waters at the Crazy Water Hotel. They owned a home n the city. Then in the winter season they would rent a house in Port Aransas, Texas where Samuel fished a lot. This life style continued for several years until Samuel's infirmities due to age and illness ended this life style. A few months before his death he was diagnosed with an intestinal cancer and had to be given large amounts of morphine to deal with the pain. He died in Grandfield, Tillman County, Oklahoma in 1954 with the cause of death due to the cancer.