Hiram Thomas Vance, the eighth of Will and Drucilla's children, was born near Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on June 26, 1892. He was named in honor of his father's half-brother, Hiram Thomas Vance, who had moved from Arkansas to Altoga, Texas, the same year that he was born. His uncle Hiram was 15 years younger than his father and was eight years old when Will and Drucilla were married.
Hiram lost his right eye while working for the Texas Midland Rail Road. He was clearing brush when a thorn punctured his eye. He also lost his right forefinger, "his trigger finger," as he called it, while working on the railroad.
He met an attractive young woman, Alma Trousdale, when his parents bought a farm in Peeltown, across the road from where she lived with her mother and step-father. Alma, a few years younger than Hiram, was born October 6, 1896, in Grays Prairie, a farming community located about three miles south of Kaufman.
Alma was 17 years old, and Hiram was almost 22, when they were married in Peeltown on April 4, 1914. She had planned to teach school but changed her mind in favor of getting married instead.
On June 5, 1917, two months after they were married, Hiram registered for the WWI draft. The record provided the place and date of his birth as Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on June 26, 1892. He and Alma lived in North Kaufman, where he was self employed as a farmer. His physical description was tall, medium build, blue eyes, brown hair, and one eye out. He was exempt from serving in the military because he was blind in one eye.
They had five children from 1915 - 1929: Ophelia Beatrice, Maggie "Catherine," Jesse Lee, Joe Carl, & Billy Jack.
Hiram and Alma's daughter, "Catherine," and her daughter, Alma Simons, have generously shared information and stories about their family, which they have allowed to include in a book I have written, "The Family of James and Caroline Bell." James & Caroline are Hiram's great-grandparents. In August 2006, Alma published a family book about her lineage titled, "Out on the Limb of a Family Tree."
Hiram and Alma lived in Rose Hill when Catherine was born in 1917. After her birth, the family moved to the Breckenridge farm in Abner, about seven miles northeast of Kaufman. After leaving Abner they moved to Cottonwood, and Hiram leased a farm from Frank Wampler that had once belonged to Lonnie Hughes. They lived in the house where Lonnie had killed his father. He had been severely beaten by his father, apparently took revenge, and killed him.
Hiram helped support his family by sharecropping. Catherine said there were two types of share cropping, one-half or three quarters. With one-half shares the owner of the land furnished the mules and the seed. With three-quarters the farmer furnished his own mules, equipment, and seeds. Her father only farmed with three-quarter shares. Each spring he went to the bank to borrow money to buy seeds. He raised corn, oats, cotton, sweet potatoes, and baled hay. Alma always had a vegetable garden where she grew the vegetables for the family. They also raised some cattle and pigs.
Hiram was a hard worker, and they picked cotton a lot. Catherine remembers making syrup from sugar cane. Her father met with Mr. Jones, his brother-in-law, who was married to Alma's sister, Evie. Catherine knew him as "Uncle Lark." He had a syrup mill for sale, so her father bought the mill. Mr. Jones came to the house and stayed to teach Hiram how to make syrup. Catherine said, "I had to strip the cane, and feed it into the mill. Daddy cooked the syrup, and made pretty syrup. It was clear and good."
Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, told about the crop of sugar cane that her uncle, Hiram, grew on his farm in Cottonwood. The sugar cane was harvested around the middle of September or early October. His horse walked around in circle at the end of a long pole, which turned a grinder with rollers that crushed the juice from the cane and dripped into a container. The juice was heated until it was formed into the syrup that he sold. It could be used in many ways. Besides being used as a sauce for breads and baked items, it was used to make taffy, cookies, dipped peanuts, and popcorn balls. Hiram enjoyed sharing the left over skimmed syrup that had impurities that he couldn't sell. He always took some to Geneva and her mother, which they made into taffy.
Catherine told the following story: "One day Hiram was gathering corn and he tied the lines from the mules to the wagon and he hollered ‘go' and the mules would not go, so Hiram threw an ear of corn and hit the mule in the ear. The mules ran and ran and ran, and he finally caught up with them. Another time he had an old mule that balked, and he wouldn't get up. Hiram got the mule by the ear and twisted the ear so hard that the mule fell down, and Hiram punched the mule in the face. He had a temper."
Ophelia was a little girl when George and Cynthia Dodson, and their children, Bill and Jessie, stayed all night with them. Bill was the oldest, and Jessie, the youngest. Bill drove his parents around in his Model A Ford, and they usually stopped on their way to or from visiting Grandpa Will at his farm in Peeltown. Ophelia said her parents called them "Uncle George and Aunt Cynthia." Catherine, who was about two years younger than Ophelia, recalled that Uncle George liked to tease a lot, and he was always teasing Aunt Cynthia. She laughed, and said her father had nicknamed her mother, Hoss. One time Aunt Cynthia was talking to her mother and called her Hoss. Uncle George spoke up and said, "That's not her name!" Aunt Cynthia said, "Well, that's what Hiram calls her!" Hiram had started calling her "Hoss" because she was strong and worked hard. Catherine said, "We just loved that jolly old man. He was a card." They stayed up late telling ghost stories that would almost scare Ophelia to death. She was so scared that she was afraid to use their outdoor toilet or go to bed. She said that George was a cute, quiet little man, and that Cynthia was a big talker.
It was a warm spring morning, Tuesday, June 20, 1933, just six days before Hiram was to celebrate his forty-first birthday. He was working in the field, and Alma was milking cows. Catherine, age 16, and Ophelia, almost 18, had baby-sitting jobs in Dallas. Jim Reynolds, a neighbor who lived a short distance from them, called out to Hiram, telling him to come and get the money that he owed him. This was to reimburse Hiram for an act of kindness he had shown to their family. According to Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, a man had almost beaten Mr. Reynolds to death that winter. Hiram, feeling sorry for the family, had taken care of him and his wife and had provided food for their livestock until Jim had recovered.
Mrs. Vipperman, another neighbor, needed to buy medicine. She came to the farm and asked for a ride into town. Hiram hitched up his wagon, and when he was ready to leave, his sons, Joe Carl, age 7, and Billy Jack, 4, and Mrs. Vipperman climbed up in the wagon with him. He stopped at Reynolds and got down. Jim was drinking "white lightning" with some of his friends and soon became argumentative. Hiram started walking back to the wagon, when Reynolds drew a .44 and said, "Stop, I'm going to shoot you." Mrs. Vipperman thought his last words were, "Shoot me you, son-of-a-bitch. You haven't got the guts." Reynolds shot him in the back, and he instantly fell dead beside the road. His two young sons and Mrs. Vipperman were eye-witnesses to the cold blooded murder, and they climbed down out of the wagon and rushed to the house to get Alma. The sheriff was sent for, but it was many hours before he arrived. There were no phones, and few people had cars. The location of the shooting was in the lane next to the Harkness place in Cottonwood. Geneva said Hiram wore overalls with straps that crossed high in the back and that the bullet went through the place where the straps crossed.
Articles about the murder and subsequent trial were published in Kaufman newspapers over the next few months. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation. Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years. The banner line, in large bold letters in The Kaufman Herald on Thursday, June 22, 1933, caught the attention of its readers: "SHOT IN BACK, COTTONWOOD MAN SLAIN - Jim Reynolds, Cottonwood Farmer, Is Denied Bond Wednesday at Preliminary Hearing and Remanded to County Jail - Hiram Thomas Vance, 41- year old Cottonwood Farmer, Slain Tuesday With Bullet that Enters Back, Goes Through Body and is Found by Officers in Shirt. Funeral For Slain Man Held at Cottonwood Accused Man Refuses to Make Statement and Waives Examining Trial Here Wednesday; Grand Jury to Investigate Slaying When Probers Reconvene Friday.
Waiving examining trial here Wednesday morning, Jim Reynolds about 60, was denied bond by Justice of the Peace E.E. Keller upon recommendation of County Attorney Taylor Carlisle and was remanded to county jail in the killing Tuesday of Hiram Thomas Vance. Both men were Cottonwood community farmers. The grand jury of Judge Thomas R. Bond's district court, in session all last week, will investigate the alleged slaying when it reconvenes in a special called session Friday. Mr. Vance was dead Tuesday when Sheriff Fred Adams, Constable Bob Barnett, and Judge E.E. Keller arrived at the scene of the killing near the Reynolds's home in the Cottonwood community. His body was in the roadside. A bullet from a .44 entered the victim's back and went through the body. It was found beneath his shirt.
Reynolds refused to make a statement regarding the killing and did not mention any difficulties between himself and Mr. Vance. Reynolds has figured in two previous trials within recent months. Carl Williams was convicted in district court here last fall and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary on a charge of hijacking Reynolds. More recently Reynolds and his wife were charged in aggravated assault, which was reduced to simple assault. They entered a plea of guilty in that case. There were eye witnesses to the killing Tuesday. It is alleged that an argument brought threats against Mr. Vance, who considering them lightly turned to leave the scene. A bullet entered his back, went through his body and was found by officers in his shirt.
Funeral services for Hiram Vance were in progress at the Cottonwood Cemetery at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon with Rev. R.R. Preddy of Ennis officiating. The deceased, a resident of the county for a number of years, would have been 41 years, had he lived until June 26. He is survived by his widow, three daughters and two sons, Ophelia and Katherine Vance of Dallas, Jessie Lee, Joe Carl, and Billy Jack of Scurry, route 2; two brothers, J.H. Vance of Kemp, route 5, and B.L. Vance of Scurry, route 2; and two sisters, Mrs. W.A. Allen of Dallas, and Mrs. Delia Kinard of Houston." (Hiram's father, who would die the following year, wasn't mentioned.)
Other articles about the trial have been transcribed by Alma Simons, which are in her book. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation, and Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years.
The last article she transcribed from The Kaufman Weekly Herald, dated Monday, May 21, 1934, tells of the fate of Reynolds: "Jim Reynolds Is Taken to Penitentiary at Huntsville - Cottonwood Farmer Enters Penitentiary Almost Year After Shooting; Appeal Delays Trip to Huntsville..Eleven months and a day after the alleged crime, Jim H. Reynolds, past 60, entered the gates of the state penitentiary at Huntsville to serve a ten-year sentence for the slaying of Hiram Vance, 40, Cottonwood Farmer. Reynolds was taken to the penitentiary Monday by Amos Dietz, chief deputy sheriff of Kaufman County. He had been in the Kaufman County jail most of the time since the fatal shooting at Cottonwood on June 20, 1933 and was always a model prisoner. The Reynolds case was continued from the summer term of district court last year on a motion of the defense that one of the principal witnesses was ill. He was tried in November of last year and a verdict was returned in the late afternoon of Tuesday, November 28, which assessed his penalty at 10 years in the penitentiary. Reynolds's attorneys appealed the case which was reaffirmed by the court of criminal appeals. Hiram Vance was shot by a bullet which entered his back and was found beneath his shirt just over the chest when officers called to find his body on the roadside near the Reynolds home."
Alma, age 36, was to live almost 56 more years. More about her life can be seen in her memorial.
Researched and compiled by Virginia Brown
July 2009
Hiram lost his right eye while working for the Texas Midland Rail Road. He was clearing brush when a thorn punctured his eye. He also lost his right forefinger, "his trigger finger," as he called it, while working on the railroad.
He met an attractive young woman, Alma Trousdale, when his parents bought a farm in Peeltown, across the road from where she lived with her mother and step-father. Alma, a few years younger than Hiram, was born October 6, 1896, in Grays Prairie, a farming community located about three miles south of Kaufman.
Alma was 17 years old, and Hiram was almost 22, when they were married in Peeltown on April 4, 1914. She had planned to teach school but changed her mind in favor of getting married instead.
On June 5, 1917, two months after they were married, Hiram registered for the WWI draft. The record provided the place and date of his birth as Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on June 26, 1892. He and Alma lived in North Kaufman, where he was self employed as a farmer. His physical description was tall, medium build, blue eyes, brown hair, and one eye out. He was exempt from serving in the military because he was blind in one eye.
They had five children from 1915 - 1929: Ophelia Beatrice, Maggie "Catherine," Jesse Lee, Joe Carl, & Billy Jack.
Hiram and Alma's daughter, "Catherine," and her daughter, Alma Simons, have generously shared information and stories about their family, which they have allowed to include in a book I have written, "The Family of James and Caroline Bell." James & Caroline are Hiram's great-grandparents. In August 2006, Alma published a family book about her lineage titled, "Out on the Limb of a Family Tree."
Hiram and Alma lived in Rose Hill when Catherine was born in 1917. After her birth, the family moved to the Breckenridge farm in Abner, about seven miles northeast of Kaufman. After leaving Abner they moved to Cottonwood, and Hiram leased a farm from Frank Wampler that had once belonged to Lonnie Hughes. They lived in the house where Lonnie had killed his father. He had been severely beaten by his father, apparently took revenge, and killed him.
Hiram helped support his family by sharecropping. Catherine said there were two types of share cropping, one-half or three quarters. With one-half shares the owner of the land furnished the mules and the seed. With three-quarters the farmer furnished his own mules, equipment, and seeds. Her father only farmed with three-quarter shares. Each spring he went to the bank to borrow money to buy seeds. He raised corn, oats, cotton, sweet potatoes, and baled hay. Alma always had a vegetable garden where she grew the vegetables for the family. They also raised some cattle and pigs.
Hiram was a hard worker, and they picked cotton a lot. Catherine remembers making syrup from sugar cane. Her father met with Mr. Jones, his brother-in-law, who was married to Alma's sister, Evie. Catherine knew him as "Uncle Lark." He had a syrup mill for sale, so her father bought the mill. Mr. Jones came to the house and stayed to teach Hiram how to make syrup. Catherine said, "I had to strip the cane, and feed it into the mill. Daddy cooked the syrup, and made pretty syrup. It was clear and good."
Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, told about the crop of sugar cane that her uncle, Hiram, grew on his farm in Cottonwood. The sugar cane was harvested around the middle of September or early October. His horse walked around in circle at the end of a long pole, which turned a grinder with rollers that crushed the juice from the cane and dripped into a container. The juice was heated until it was formed into the syrup that he sold. It could be used in many ways. Besides being used as a sauce for breads and baked items, it was used to make taffy, cookies, dipped peanuts, and popcorn balls. Hiram enjoyed sharing the left over skimmed syrup that had impurities that he couldn't sell. He always took some to Geneva and her mother, which they made into taffy.
Catherine told the following story: "One day Hiram was gathering corn and he tied the lines from the mules to the wagon and he hollered ‘go' and the mules would not go, so Hiram threw an ear of corn and hit the mule in the ear. The mules ran and ran and ran, and he finally caught up with them. Another time he had an old mule that balked, and he wouldn't get up. Hiram got the mule by the ear and twisted the ear so hard that the mule fell down, and Hiram punched the mule in the face. He had a temper."
Ophelia was a little girl when George and Cynthia Dodson, and their children, Bill and Jessie, stayed all night with them. Bill was the oldest, and Jessie, the youngest. Bill drove his parents around in his Model A Ford, and they usually stopped on their way to or from visiting Grandpa Will at his farm in Peeltown. Ophelia said her parents called them "Uncle George and Aunt Cynthia." Catherine, who was about two years younger than Ophelia, recalled that Uncle George liked to tease a lot, and he was always teasing Aunt Cynthia. She laughed, and said her father had nicknamed her mother, Hoss. One time Aunt Cynthia was talking to her mother and called her Hoss. Uncle George spoke up and said, "That's not her name!" Aunt Cynthia said, "Well, that's what Hiram calls her!" Hiram had started calling her "Hoss" because she was strong and worked hard. Catherine said, "We just loved that jolly old man. He was a card." They stayed up late telling ghost stories that would almost scare Ophelia to death. She was so scared that she was afraid to use their outdoor toilet or go to bed. She said that George was a cute, quiet little man, and that Cynthia was a big talker.
It was a warm spring morning, Tuesday, June 20, 1933, just six days before Hiram was to celebrate his forty-first birthday. He was working in the field, and Alma was milking cows. Catherine, age 16, and Ophelia, almost 18, had baby-sitting jobs in Dallas. Jim Reynolds, a neighbor who lived a short distance from them, called out to Hiram, telling him to come and get the money that he owed him. This was to reimburse Hiram for an act of kindness he had shown to their family. According to Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, a man had almost beaten Mr. Reynolds to death that winter. Hiram, feeling sorry for the family, had taken care of him and his wife and had provided food for their livestock until Jim had recovered.
Mrs. Vipperman, another neighbor, needed to buy medicine. She came to the farm and asked for a ride into town. Hiram hitched up his wagon, and when he was ready to leave, his sons, Joe Carl, age 7, and Billy Jack, 4, and Mrs. Vipperman climbed up in the wagon with him. He stopped at Reynolds and got down. Jim was drinking "white lightning" with some of his friends and soon became argumentative. Hiram started walking back to the wagon, when Reynolds drew a .44 and said, "Stop, I'm going to shoot you." Mrs. Vipperman thought his last words were, "Shoot me you, son-of-a-bitch. You haven't got the guts." Reynolds shot him in the back, and he instantly fell dead beside the road. His two young sons and Mrs. Vipperman were eye-witnesses to the cold blooded murder, and they climbed down out of the wagon and rushed to the house to get Alma. The sheriff was sent for, but it was many hours before he arrived. There were no phones, and few people had cars. The location of the shooting was in the lane next to the Harkness place in Cottonwood. Geneva said Hiram wore overalls with straps that crossed high in the back and that the bullet went through the place where the straps crossed.
Articles about the murder and subsequent trial were published in Kaufman newspapers over the next few months. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation. Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years. The banner line, in large bold letters in The Kaufman Herald on Thursday, June 22, 1933, caught the attention of its readers: "SHOT IN BACK, COTTONWOOD MAN SLAIN - Jim Reynolds, Cottonwood Farmer, Is Denied Bond Wednesday at Preliminary Hearing and Remanded to County Jail - Hiram Thomas Vance, 41- year old Cottonwood Farmer, Slain Tuesday With Bullet that Enters Back, Goes Through Body and is Found by Officers in Shirt. Funeral For Slain Man Held at Cottonwood Accused Man Refuses to Make Statement and Waives Examining Trial Here Wednesday; Grand Jury to Investigate Slaying When Probers Reconvene Friday.
Waiving examining trial here Wednesday morning, Jim Reynolds about 60, was denied bond by Justice of the Peace E.E. Keller upon recommendation of County Attorney Taylor Carlisle and was remanded to county jail in the killing Tuesday of Hiram Thomas Vance. Both men were Cottonwood community farmers. The grand jury of Judge Thomas R. Bond's district court, in session all last week, will investigate the alleged slaying when it reconvenes in a special called session Friday. Mr. Vance was dead Tuesday when Sheriff Fred Adams, Constable Bob Barnett, and Judge E.E. Keller arrived at the scene of the killing near the Reynolds's home in the Cottonwood community. His body was in the roadside. A bullet from a .44 entered the victim's back and went through the body. It was found beneath his shirt.
Reynolds refused to make a statement regarding the killing and did not mention any difficulties between himself and Mr. Vance. Reynolds has figured in two previous trials within recent months. Carl Williams was convicted in district court here last fall and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary on a charge of hijacking Reynolds. More recently Reynolds and his wife were charged in aggravated assault, which was reduced to simple assault. They entered a plea of guilty in that case. There were eye witnesses to the killing Tuesday. It is alleged that an argument brought threats against Mr. Vance, who considering them lightly turned to leave the scene. A bullet entered his back, went through his body and was found by officers in his shirt.
Funeral services for Hiram Vance were in progress at the Cottonwood Cemetery at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon with Rev. R.R. Preddy of Ennis officiating. The deceased, a resident of the county for a number of years, would have been 41 years, had he lived until June 26. He is survived by his widow, three daughters and two sons, Ophelia and Katherine Vance of Dallas, Jessie Lee, Joe Carl, and Billy Jack of Scurry, route 2; two brothers, J.H. Vance of Kemp, route 5, and B.L. Vance of Scurry, route 2; and two sisters, Mrs. W.A. Allen of Dallas, and Mrs. Delia Kinard of Houston." (Hiram's father, who would die the following year, wasn't mentioned.)
Other articles about the trial have been transcribed by Alma Simons, which are in her book. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation, and Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years.
The last article she transcribed from The Kaufman Weekly Herald, dated Monday, May 21, 1934, tells of the fate of Reynolds: "Jim Reynolds Is Taken to Penitentiary at Huntsville - Cottonwood Farmer Enters Penitentiary Almost Year After Shooting; Appeal Delays Trip to Huntsville..Eleven months and a day after the alleged crime, Jim H. Reynolds, past 60, entered the gates of the state penitentiary at Huntsville to serve a ten-year sentence for the slaying of Hiram Vance, 40, Cottonwood Farmer. Reynolds was taken to the penitentiary Monday by Amos Dietz, chief deputy sheriff of Kaufman County. He had been in the Kaufman County jail most of the time since the fatal shooting at Cottonwood on June 20, 1933 and was always a model prisoner. The Reynolds case was continued from the summer term of district court last year on a motion of the defense that one of the principal witnesses was ill. He was tried in November of last year and a verdict was returned in the late afternoon of Tuesday, November 28, which assessed his penalty at 10 years in the penitentiary. Reynolds's attorneys appealed the case which was reaffirmed by the court of criminal appeals. Hiram Vance was shot by a bullet which entered his back and was found beneath his shirt just over the chest when officers called to find his body on the roadside near the Reynolds home."
Alma, age 36, was to live almost 56 more years. More about her life can be seen in her memorial.
Researched and compiled by Virginia Brown
July 2009
Hiram Thomas Vance, the eighth of Will and Drucilla's children, was born near Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on June 26, 1892. He was named in honor of his father's half-brother, Hiram Thomas Vance, who had moved from Arkansas to Altoga, Texas, the same year that he was born. His uncle Hiram was 15 years younger than his father and was eight years old when Will and Drucilla were married.
Hiram lost his right eye while working for the Texas Midland Rail Road. He was clearing brush when a thorn punctured his eye. He also lost his right forefinger, "his trigger finger," as he called it, while working on the railroad.
He met an attractive young woman, Alma Trousdale, when his parents bought a farm in Peeltown, across the road from where she lived with her mother and step-father. Alma, a few years younger than Hiram, was born October 6, 1896, in Grays Prairie, a farming community located about three miles south of Kaufman.
Alma was 17 years old, and Hiram was almost 22, when they were married in Peeltown on April 4, 1914. She had planned to teach school but changed her mind in favor of getting married instead.
On June 5, 1917, two months after they were married, Hiram registered for the WWI draft. The record provided the place and date of his birth as Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on June 26, 1892. He and Alma lived in North Kaufman, where he was self employed as a farmer. His physical description was tall, medium build, blue eyes, brown hair, and one eye out. He was exempt from serving in the military because he was blind in one eye.
They had five children from 1915 - 1929: Ophelia Beatrice, Maggie "Catherine," Jesse Lee, Joe Carl, & Billy Jack.
Hiram and Alma's daughter, "Catherine," and her daughter, Alma Simons, have generously shared information and stories about their family, which they have allowed to include in a book I have written, "The Family of James and Caroline Bell." James & Caroline are Hiram's great-grandparents. In August 2006, Alma published a family book about her lineage titled, "Out on the Limb of a Family Tree."
Hiram and Alma lived in Rose Hill when Catherine was born in 1917. After her birth, the family moved to the Breckenridge farm in Abner, about seven miles northeast of Kaufman. After leaving Abner they moved to Cottonwood, and Hiram leased a farm from Frank Wampler that had once belonged to Lonnie Hughes. They lived in the house where Lonnie had killed his father. He had been severely beaten by his father, apparently took revenge, and killed him.
Hiram helped support his family by sharecropping. Catherine said there were two types of share cropping, one-half or three quarters. With one-half shares the owner of the land furnished the mules and the seed. With three-quarters the farmer furnished his own mules, equipment, and seeds. Her father only farmed with three-quarter shares. Each spring he went to the bank to borrow money to buy seeds. He raised corn, oats, cotton, sweet potatoes, and baled hay. Alma always had a vegetable garden where she grew the vegetables for the family. They also raised some cattle and pigs.
Hiram was a hard worker, and they picked cotton a lot. Catherine remembers making syrup from sugar cane. Her father met with Mr. Jones, his brother-in-law, who was married to Alma's sister, Evie. Catherine knew him as "Uncle Lark." He had a syrup mill for sale, so her father bought the mill. Mr. Jones came to the house and stayed to teach Hiram how to make syrup. Catherine said, "I had to strip the cane, and feed it into the mill. Daddy cooked the syrup, and made pretty syrup. It was clear and good."
Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, told about the crop of sugar cane that her uncle, Hiram, grew on his farm in Cottonwood. The sugar cane was harvested around the middle of September or early October. His horse walked around in circle at the end of a long pole, which turned a grinder with rollers that crushed the juice from the cane and dripped into a container. The juice was heated until it was formed into the syrup that he sold. It could be used in many ways. Besides being used as a sauce for breads and baked items, it was used to make taffy, cookies, dipped peanuts, and popcorn balls. Hiram enjoyed sharing the left over skimmed syrup that had impurities that he couldn't sell. He always took some to Geneva and her mother, which they made into taffy.
Catherine told the following story: "One day Hiram was gathering corn and he tied the lines from the mules to the wagon and he hollered ‘go' and the mules would not go, so Hiram threw an ear of corn and hit the mule in the ear. The mules ran and ran and ran, and he finally caught up with them. Another time he had an old mule that balked, and he wouldn't get up. Hiram got the mule by the ear and twisted the ear so hard that the mule fell down, and Hiram punched the mule in the face. He had a temper."
Ophelia was a little girl when George and Cynthia Dodson, and their children, Bill and Jessie, stayed all night with them. Bill was the oldest, and Jessie, the youngest. Bill drove his parents around in his Model A Ford, and they usually stopped on their way to or from visiting Grandpa Will at his farm in Peeltown. Ophelia said her parents called them "Uncle George and Aunt Cynthia." Catherine, who was about two years younger than Ophelia, recalled that Uncle George liked to tease a lot, and he was always teasing Aunt Cynthia. She laughed, and said her father had nicknamed her mother, Hoss. One time Aunt Cynthia was talking to her mother and called her Hoss. Uncle George spoke up and said, "That's not her name!" Aunt Cynthia said, "Well, that's what Hiram calls her!" Hiram had started calling her "Hoss" because she was strong and worked hard. Catherine said, "We just loved that jolly old man. He was a card." They stayed up late telling ghost stories that would almost scare Ophelia to death. She was so scared that she was afraid to use their outdoor toilet or go to bed. She said that George was a cute, quiet little man, and that Cynthia was a big talker.
It was a warm spring morning, Tuesday, June 20, 1933, just six days before Hiram was to celebrate his forty-first birthday. He was working in the field, and Alma was milking cows. Catherine, age 16, and Ophelia, almost 18, had baby-sitting jobs in Dallas. Jim Reynolds, a neighbor who lived a short distance from them, called out to Hiram, telling him to come and get the money that he owed him. This was to reimburse Hiram for an act of kindness he had shown to their family. According to Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, a man had almost beaten Mr. Reynolds to death that winter. Hiram, feeling sorry for the family, had taken care of him and his wife and had provided food for their livestock until Jim had recovered.
Mrs. Vipperman, another neighbor, needed to buy medicine. She came to the farm and asked for a ride into town. Hiram hitched up his wagon, and when he was ready to leave, his sons, Joe Carl, age 7, and Billy Jack, 4, and Mrs. Vipperman climbed up in the wagon with him. He stopped at Reynolds and got down. Jim was drinking "white lightning" with some of his friends and soon became argumentative. Hiram started walking back to the wagon, when Reynolds drew a .44 and said, "Stop, I'm going to shoot you." Mrs. Vipperman thought his last words were, "Shoot me you, son-of-a-bitch. You haven't got the guts." Reynolds shot him in the back, and he instantly fell dead beside the road. His two young sons and Mrs. Vipperman were eye-witnesses to the cold blooded murder, and they climbed down out of the wagon and rushed to the house to get Alma. The sheriff was sent for, but it was many hours before he arrived. There were no phones, and few people had cars. The location of the shooting was in the lane next to the Harkness place in Cottonwood. Geneva said Hiram wore overalls with straps that crossed high in the back and that the bullet went through the place where the straps crossed.
Articles about the murder and subsequent trial were published in Kaufman newspapers over the next few months. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation. Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years. The banner line, in large bold letters in The Kaufman Herald on Thursday, June 22, 1933, caught the attention of its readers: "SHOT IN BACK, COTTONWOOD MAN SLAIN - Jim Reynolds, Cottonwood Farmer, Is Denied Bond Wednesday at Preliminary Hearing and Remanded to County Jail - Hiram Thomas Vance, 41- year old Cottonwood Farmer, Slain Tuesday With Bullet that Enters Back, Goes Through Body and is Found by Officers in Shirt. Funeral For Slain Man Held at Cottonwood Accused Man Refuses to Make Statement and Waives Examining Trial Here Wednesday; Grand Jury to Investigate Slaying When Probers Reconvene Friday.
Waiving examining trial here Wednesday morning, Jim Reynolds about 60, was denied bond by Justice of the Peace E.E. Keller upon recommendation of County Attorney Taylor Carlisle and was remanded to county jail in the killing Tuesday of Hiram Thomas Vance. Both men were Cottonwood community farmers. The grand jury of Judge Thomas R. Bond's district court, in session all last week, will investigate the alleged slaying when it reconvenes in a special called session Friday. Mr. Vance was dead Tuesday when Sheriff Fred Adams, Constable Bob Barnett, and Judge E.E. Keller arrived at the scene of the killing near the Reynolds's home in the Cottonwood community. His body was in the roadside. A bullet from a .44 entered the victim's back and went through the body. It was found beneath his shirt.
Reynolds refused to make a statement regarding the killing and did not mention any difficulties between himself and Mr. Vance. Reynolds has figured in two previous trials within recent months. Carl Williams was convicted in district court here last fall and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary on a charge of hijacking Reynolds. More recently Reynolds and his wife were charged in aggravated assault, which was reduced to simple assault. They entered a plea of guilty in that case. There were eye witnesses to the killing Tuesday. It is alleged that an argument brought threats against Mr. Vance, who considering them lightly turned to leave the scene. A bullet entered his back, went through his body and was found by officers in his shirt.
Funeral services for Hiram Vance were in progress at the Cottonwood Cemetery at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon with Rev. R.R. Preddy of Ennis officiating. The deceased, a resident of the county for a number of years, would have been 41 years, had he lived until June 26. He is survived by his widow, three daughters and two sons, Ophelia and Katherine Vance of Dallas, Jessie Lee, Joe Carl, and Billy Jack of Scurry, route 2; two brothers, J.H. Vance of Kemp, route 5, and B.L. Vance of Scurry, route 2; and two sisters, Mrs. W.A. Allen of Dallas, and Mrs. Delia Kinard of Houston." (Hiram's father, who would die the following year, wasn't mentioned.)
Other articles about the trial have been transcribed by Alma Simons, which are in her book. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation, and Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years.
The last article she transcribed from The Kaufman Weekly Herald, dated Monday, May 21, 1934, tells of the fate of Reynolds: "Jim Reynolds Is Taken to Penitentiary at Huntsville - Cottonwood Farmer Enters Penitentiary Almost Year After Shooting; Appeal Delays Trip to Huntsville..Eleven months and a day after the alleged crime, Jim H. Reynolds, past 60, entered the gates of the state penitentiary at Huntsville to serve a ten-year sentence for the slaying of Hiram Vance, 40, Cottonwood Farmer. Reynolds was taken to the penitentiary Monday by Amos Dietz, chief deputy sheriff of Kaufman County. He had been in the Kaufman County jail most of the time since the fatal shooting at Cottonwood on June 20, 1933 and was always a model prisoner. The Reynolds case was continued from the summer term of district court last year on a motion of the defense that one of the principal witnesses was ill. He was tried in November of last year and a verdict was returned in the late afternoon of Tuesday, November 28, which assessed his penalty at 10 years in the penitentiary. Reynolds's attorneys appealed the case which was reaffirmed by the court of criminal appeals. Hiram Vance was shot by a bullet which entered his back and was found beneath his shirt just over the chest when officers called to find his body on the roadside near the Reynolds home."
Alma, age 36, was to live almost 56 more years. More about her life can be seen in her memorial.
Researched and compiled by Virginia Brown
July 2009
Hiram lost his right eye while working for the Texas Midland Rail Road. He was clearing brush when a thorn punctured his eye. He also lost his right forefinger, "his trigger finger," as he called it, while working on the railroad.
He met an attractive young woman, Alma Trousdale, when his parents bought a farm in Peeltown, across the road from where she lived with her mother and step-father. Alma, a few years younger than Hiram, was born October 6, 1896, in Grays Prairie, a farming community located about three miles south of Kaufman.
Alma was 17 years old, and Hiram was almost 22, when they were married in Peeltown on April 4, 1914. She had planned to teach school but changed her mind in favor of getting married instead.
On June 5, 1917, two months after they were married, Hiram registered for the WWI draft. The record provided the place and date of his birth as Altoga, Collin County, Texas, on June 26, 1892. He and Alma lived in North Kaufman, where he was self employed as a farmer. His physical description was tall, medium build, blue eyes, brown hair, and one eye out. He was exempt from serving in the military because he was blind in one eye.
They had five children from 1915 - 1929: Ophelia Beatrice, Maggie "Catherine," Jesse Lee, Joe Carl, & Billy Jack.
Hiram and Alma's daughter, "Catherine," and her daughter, Alma Simons, have generously shared information and stories about their family, which they have allowed to include in a book I have written, "The Family of James and Caroline Bell." James & Caroline are Hiram's great-grandparents. In August 2006, Alma published a family book about her lineage titled, "Out on the Limb of a Family Tree."
Hiram and Alma lived in Rose Hill when Catherine was born in 1917. After her birth, the family moved to the Breckenridge farm in Abner, about seven miles northeast of Kaufman. After leaving Abner they moved to Cottonwood, and Hiram leased a farm from Frank Wampler that had once belonged to Lonnie Hughes. They lived in the house where Lonnie had killed his father. He had been severely beaten by his father, apparently took revenge, and killed him.
Hiram helped support his family by sharecropping. Catherine said there were two types of share cropping, one-half or three quarters. With one-half shares the owner of the land furnished the mules and the seed. With three-quarters the farmer furnished his own mules, equipment, and seeds. Her father only farmed with three-quarter shares. Each spring he went to the bank to borrow money to buy seeds. He raised corn, oats, cotton, sweet potatoes, and baled hay. Alma always had a vegetable garden where she grew the vegetables for the family. They also raised some cattle and pigs.
Hiram was a hard worker, and they picked cotton a lot. Catherine remembers making syrup from sugar cane. Her father met with Mr. Jones, his brother-in-law, who was married to Alma's sister, Evie. Catherine knew him as "Uncle Lark." He had a syrup mill for sale, so her father bought the mill. Mr. Jones came to the house and stayed to teach Hiram how to make syrup. Catherine said, "I had to strip the cane, and feed it into the mill. Daddy cooked the syrup, and made pretty syrup. It was clear and good."
Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, told about the crop of sugar cane that her uncle, Hiram, grew on his farm in Cottonwood. The sugar cane was harvested around the middle of September or early October. His horse walked around in circle at the end of a long pole, which turned a grinder with rollers that crushed the juice from the cane and dripped into a container. The juice was heated until it was formed into the syrup that he sold. It could be used in many ways. Besides being used as a sauce for breads and baked items, it was used to make taffy, cookies, dipped peanuts, and popcorn balls. Hiram enjoyed sharing the left over skimmed syrup that had impurities that he couldn't sell. He always took some to Geneva and her mother, which they made into taffy.
Catherine told the following story: "One day Hiram was gathering corn and he tied the lines from the mules to the wagon and he hollered ‘go' and the mules would not go, so Hiram threw an ear of corn and hit the mule in the ear. The mules ran and ran and ran, and he finally caught up with them. Another time he had an old mule that balked, and he wouldn't get up. Hiram got the mule by the ear and twisted the ear so hard that the mule fell down, and Hiram punched the mule in the face. He had a temper."
Ophelia was a little girl when George and Cynthia Dodson, and their children, Bill and Jessie, stayed all night with them. Bill was the oldest, and Jessie, the youngest. Bill drove his parents around in his Model A Ford, and they usually stopped on their way to or from visiting Grandpa Will at his farm in Peeltown. Ophelia said her parents called them "Uncle George and Aunt Cynthia." Catherine, who was about two years younger than Ophelia, recalled that Uncle George liked to tease a lot, and he was always teasing Aunt Cynthia. She laughed, and said her father had nicknamed her mother, Hoss. One time Aunt Cynthia was talking to her mother and called her Hoss. Uncle George spoke up and said, "That's not her name!" Aunt Cynthia said, "Well, that's what Hiram calls her!" Hiram had started calling her "Hoss" because she was strong and worked hard. Catherine said, "We just loved that jolly old man. He was a card." They stayed up late telling ghost stories that would almost scare Ophelia to death. She was so scared that she was afraid to use their outdoor toilet or go to bed. She said that George was a cute, quiet little man, and that Cynthia was a big talker.
It was a warm spring morning, Tuesday, June 20, 1933, just six days before Hiram was to celebrate his forty-first birthday. He was working in the field, and Alma was milking cows. Catherine, age 16, and Ophelia, almost 18, had baby-sitting jobs in Dallas. Jim Reynolds, a neighbor who lived a short distance from them, called out to Hiram, telling him to come and get the money that he owed him. This was to reimburse Hiram for an act of kindness he had shown to their family. According to Hiram's niece, Geneva (Vance) Marsing, a man had almost beaten Mr. Reynolds to death that winter. Hiram, feeling sorry for the family, had taken care of him and his wife and had provided food for their livestock until Jim had recovered.
Mrs. Vipperman, another neighbor, needed to buy medicine. She came to the farm and asked for a ride into town. Hiram hitched up his wagon, and when he was ready to leave, his sons, Joe Carl, age 7, and Billy Jack, 4, and Mrs. Vipperman climbed up in the wagon with him. He stopped at Reynolds and got down. Jim was drinking "white lightning" with some of his friends and soon became argumentative. Hiram started walking back to the wagon, when Reynolds drew a .44 and said, "Stop, I'm going to shoot you." Mrs. Vipperman thought his last words were, "Shoot me you, son-of-a-bitch. You haven't got the guts." Reynolds shot him in the back, and he instantly fell dead beside the road. His two young sons and Mrs. Vipperman were eye-witnesses to the cold blooded murder, and they climbed down out of the wagon and rushed to the house to get Alma. The sheriff was sent for, but it was many hours before he arrived. There were no phones, and few people had cars. The location of the shooting was in the lane next to the Harkness place in Cottonwood. Geneva said Hiram wore overalls with straps that crossed high in the back and that the bullet went through the place where the straps crossed.
Articles about the murder and subsequent trial were published in Kaufman newspapers over the next few months. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation. Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years. The banner line, in large bold letters in The Kaufman Herald on Thursday, June 22, 1933, caught the attention of its readers: "SHOT IN BACK, COTTONWOOD MAN SLAIN - Jim Reynolds, Cottonwood Farmer, Is Denied Bond Wednesday at Preliminary Hearing and Remanded to County Jail - Hiram Thomas Vance, 41- year old Cottonwood Farmer, Slain Tuesday With Bullet that Enters Back, Goes Through Body and is Found by Officers in Shirt. Funeral For Slain Man Held at Cottonwood Accused Man Refuses to Make Statement and Waives Examining Trial Here Wednesday; Grand Jury to Investigate Slaying When Probers Reconvene Friday.
Waiving examining trial here Wednesday morning, Jim Reynolds about 60, was denied bond by Justice of the Peace E.E. Keller upon recommendation of County Attorney Taylor Carlisle and was remanded to county jail in the killing Tuesday of Hiram Thomas Vance. Both men were Cottonwood community farmers. The grand jury of Judge Thomas R. Bond's district court, in session all last week, will investigate the alleged slaying when it reconvenes in a special called session Friday. Mr. Vance was dead Tuesday when Sheriff Fred Adams, Constable Bob Barnett, and Judge E.E. Keller arrived at the scene of the killing near the Reynolds's home in the Cottonwood community. His body was in the roadside. A bullet from a .44 entered the victim's back and went through the body. It was found beneath his shirt.
Reynolds refused to make a statement regarding the killing and did not mention any difficulties between himself and Mr. Vance. Reynolds has figured in two previous trials within recent months. Carl Williams was convicted in district court here last fall and sentenced to five years in the penitentiary on a charge of hijacking Reynolds. More recently Reynolds and his wife were charged in aggravated assault, which was reduced to simple assault. They entered a plea of guilty in that case. There were eye witnesses to the killing Tuesday. It is alleged that an argument brought threats against Mr. Vance, who considering them lightly turned to leave the scene. A bullet entered his back, went through his body and was found by officers in his shirt.
Funeral services for Hiram Vance were in progress at the Cottonwood Cemetery at 3 o'clock Wednesday afternoon with Rev. R.R. Preddy of Ennis officiating. The deceased, a resident of the county for a number of years, would have been 41 years, had he lived until June 26. He is survived by his widow, three daughters and two sons, Ophelia and Katherine Vance of Dallas, Jessie Lee, Joe Carl, and Billy Jack of Scurry, route 2; two brothers, J.H. Vance of Kemp, route 5, and B.L. Vance of Scurry, route 2; and two sisters, Mrs. W.A. Allen of Dallas, and Mrs. Delia Kinard of Houston." (Hiram's father, who would die the following year, wasn't mentioned.)
Other articles about the trial have been transcribed by Alma Simons, which are in her book. The trial ended on Thursday, November 30, 1933, and the jury returned their verdict after only one hour of deliberation, and Reynolds was given a sentence of ten years.
The last article she transcribed from The Kaufman Weekly Herald, dated Monday, May 21, 1934, tells of the fate of Reynolds: "Jim Reynolds Is Taken to Penitentiary at Huntsville - Cottonwood Farmer Enters Penitentiary Almost Year After Shooting; Appeal Delays Trip to Huntsville..Eleven months and a day after the alleged crime, Jim H. Reynolds, past 60, entered the gates of the state penitentiary at Huntsville to serve a ten-year sentence for the slaying of Hiram Vance, 40, Cottonwood Farmer. Reynolds was taken to the penitentiary Monday by Amos Dietz, chief deputy sheriff of Kaufman County. He had been in the Kaufman County jail most of the time since the fatal shooting at Cottonwood on June 20, 1933 and was always a model prisoner. The Reynolds case was continued from the summer term of district court last year on a motion of the defense that one of the principal witnesses was ill. He was tried in November of last year and a verdict was returned in the late afternoon of Tuesday, November 28, which assessed his penalty at 10 years in the penitentiary. Reynolds's attorneys appealed the case which was reaffirmed by the court of criminal appeals. Hiram Vance was shot by a bullet which entered his back and was found beneath his shirt just over the chest when officers called to find his body on the roadside near the Reynolds home."
Alma, age 36, was to live almost 56 more years. More about her life can be seen in her memorial.
Researched and compiled by Virginia Brown
July 2009
Inscription
WOW marker.
Family Members
Siblings
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James Henry Vance
1883–1966
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Leaonidus Vance
1890–1890
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Laura Ethel Vance
1894–1895
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Pearl Lou Vance Bartlett
1895–1916
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Clarence A. Vance
1897–1899
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Beacher Lonnie Vance
1898–1967
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William M. Vance
1900–1901
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Cordelia Emaline "Dealy" Vance Kinard
1900–1949
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Vicie May Vance
1901–1927
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Mary Josephine Vance Taylor
1904–1959
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