name: William F. Surber
death date: 07 Sep 1922
death place: Bandera, Bandera, Texas
gender: Male
race: White
death age: 87 years 7 months 24 days
birth date: 13 Jan 1835
birthplace: , Pulaski, Kentucky
marital status: Married
father's name: Adam Surber
father's birthplace: Virginia
mother's name: Verna Mcclure
occupation: Stock Farmer
burial place: Bandera, Bandera, Texas
burial date: 08 Sep 1922


My father, Adam Surber, was born in Virginia in 1804, and when he was about 18 years old he emigrated to Kentucky with his parents where they bought land in Pulaski county at fifty cents per acre. My grandfather's name was Jacob Surber, and he lived many years after moving to Kentucky. There were eight children in our family but I am the only one now living. I was born January 13. 1835, and am therefore 87 years old. My wife and I have raised 11 children, all now married except one girl and she is living with us. We have 34 grandchildren and 26 great grandchildren.

I left Kentucky January 10, 1870, and landed at Center Point, Texas, one month later. This was in Indian times, and raids frequently occurred. One time while I was away from home, up on the Verde threshing, my wife had a severe toothache and got up during the night to get fresh air, and when she opened the door someone jumped over the fence and ran away. The next morning there were two horses about 300 yards from the house that had been killed by the Indians. Not long after that the redskins came in again and stole two fine Kentucky horses from my cousin, Munroe Surber, near Comfort. The last and most brutal raid occurred in 1876. A family named Terry lived about a mile and a half south of Center Point. When the Indians came in on this raid they found Mr. Terry and his four little children some distance from the house and killed him and two of the children, badly wounded a third child and carried a little girl, nine years old, off with them. A negro boy named Jack Hardy had been captured in this raid and witnessed the killing of Terry and his children. At the time of the attack Terry was sitting down on the ground riving boards from cypress blocks and his children were playing about. As he had his head down he did not see the Indians approach, and was unaware of their presence until one of them shot him with a rifle. He sprang to his feet, ran a short distance and fell and was then lanced to death by the Indians. Mrs. Terry, at the house, heard the commotion and seeing the danger, made her escape, ran to the settlement and gave the alarm. A party of men took the trail of the Indians and followed it to the Frio where they ran onto the savages and recaptured the little girl. The negro boy got away from the Indians and was picked up by the pursuing party .I helped to wash and prepare the body of Terry for burial the next day. He was horribly butchered. Besides being shot he had been pierced through the bodv with lances and was bloody from head to foot.

From "Pioneer History of Bandera County" by J. Marvin Hunter